Prophecy Foretold (The Perfect Team)
by Skyeblueme3
Summary: Sequel to The Perfect Team. For years, four have been preparing to take control of the world, and the only thing that stands in their way are the five foretold in the prophecy. The leader, the warrior, the healer, and the guardian and the key will battle their childhood oppressors to the words of an oracle. Rise of the Brave Frozen Tangled Dragons.
1. Edited

** Hey guys. Hope you all had a great New Years. **

**Here is the sequel to the Perfect Team.**

**Enjoy and review. I'd like to hear what you guys think.**

**For those of you who've read this fanfic before:**

I'm so sorry that its taken forever for me to get back to this; life has been so busy lately. I have not forgotten about this, however, so bear with me. This last month I've been going back through and making some changes to the story, and have just reposted some of the chapters I've edited. **I've gone through and changed a lot of the chapters, so I suggest you read it all again so you don't get confused.**

I will finish this fanfiction, I promise you that, it's just taking me a longer time that I expected.

Thank you for sticking with me this long.


	2. Letters

**EDIT: I've gone through and changed a lot of the chapters, so if you've read this before, I suggest you read it all again so you don't get confused.**

**Hey, everyone. Here is the sequel to the Perfect Team. Thank you for your patience while I got this set up. I'll be posting one chapter every week hopefully, so keep an eye out.**

**Enjoy and review. I'd like to hear what you guys think.**

"Your majesties, letters have arrived for you."

Rapunzel looked up from her book. She and her parents were in the castle library spending the evening quietly together. The servant handed her an envelope, and passed a small pile of letters to her parents.

Putting her book to the side, Rapunzel recognized Merida's handwriting. They'd been exchanging letters since last summer; writing about current happenings, confidences, thoughts, etc. They had become really good friends, the closest friend either of them had ever really had. Rapunzel was hoping that soon they could visit and see each other again.

She had just opened the letter and begun to read when she noticed her parents whispering.

"Thomas, look." Her mother had opened one of the envelopes, and was frowning.

"Is it already that time?" The king answered.

"It can't be…"

"I suppose it has been three years already, she'll be old enough now." He read over his wife's shoulder.

"Who is old enough?" Rapunzel asked, curious. Her parents looked almost sad, looking over the letter. What happened three years ago?

"My niece." Her father looked up at her. "Your cousin, Princess Elsa."

"I have a cousin?" Rapunzel asked, confused. She hadn't know she had other family outside Corona; she was content with what she had.

The king and queen exchanged a look. "We haven't told you, have we, dearest? About your aunt?" Queen Primrose asked.

"No. I haven't heard anything like that." She had more family. And a cousin who had turned old enough for something. That sounded like great news, but why were her parents sad looking?

"I had a sister." The king started. "Three years ago… my sister and her husband, your mother's brother, were coming to visit for your birthday celebration."

"You were turning sixteen and that is usually a special occasion for young women," the queen added, "but on their way here…" Her voice choked up.

"Their ship was hit by a sudden storm, and… they didn't make it." King Thomas finished softly. He put an arm around his wife in comfort. His eyes were a little moist. "Our two nieces were left without parents, and their kingdom, Arendale has been without an official ruler since then. Your eldest cousin, Princess Elsa, is just about to turn twenty one and will be having her coronation soon. This is the invitation." He passed over the parchment.

_In Celebration of the Heir's Coming of Age_

_You are Hereby Invited to Attend_

_Princess Elsa of Arendelle's Coronation_

_To be Held Midsummer's Day_

"Will we be going?" Rapunzel asked. She had cousins. This was exciting news. Unexpected, but exciting; especially after last year finding out that she had parents and a kingdom. But to hear that it was the journey here for her sixteenth birthday's lantern celebration that caused her aunt and uncle's death was jolting. She hadn't even known about any of this then. It felt important that she go to this.

Her mother nodded. "We owe it to them to visit. And it will be good for you to visit your cousins. They don't have any other family but us now."

"Why haven't you told me this before?"

"It never came up, with getting to know you after all this time, and you becoming used to castle life." Her father answered. "It hasn't been a year since we got you back."

It was true, and it hadn't even occurred to her that there may be more to her family than just the king and queen. That seemed more than enough to her.

Rapunzel absorbed this new information for a moment, and her parents began to read through the other missives they'd received. She remembered Merida's letter and scanned over it. A lot of it was about what mischief her brothers had done, what new record she set with her bow, or something funny Jack did on one of his visits.

_It's almost too warm for him to visit as often now_, Merida had written. _I'm seeing the start of spring in the forest. Little snowdrops are popping up everywhere along the side of the paths._

Rapunzel remembered Jack's visit to Corona that winter. The locals had claimed it was one of the coldest winters they had had, but for the children and Rapunzel, it was one of the best. Snow had come by the feet, and Jack taught her and Eugene snow games and sports they could do. She had spent many a day outside throwing snowballs or building forts with those two. She hadn't seen the winter spirit in a while though; it was pretty warm here already.

_My mum received an invitation to this coronation in another country and she thinks it will be an 'educational experience that will help me fit in with high society'. In other words she wants me to meet someone well-off to marry. At least she isn't forcing arranged marriages on me anymore. Honestly, this trip sounds boring and stuffy. I'd rather stay here or even better, visit you. Have you spoken to your parents about arranging a trip?_

Rapunzel looked up, her heart soaring. "Merida's going to the coronation too!" She told her parents. This was even better news. She couldn't wait for midsummer, now. It was too bad that is was still several months away.

"That's great news." Queen Primrose smiled. She was aware of her daughter's friendship with one of her own closest friends. She and Elinor had grown up in neighboring kingdoms and had visited each other often. "Your father and I were talking about letting you go to the Scottish summer games to visit."

"Maybe we could go to those and then travel to Arendale all together." Rapunzel suggested.

"Maybe," King Thomas said, his voice reserved. He hadn't been on the sea since the tragedy, and the thought of two pairs of monarchs on the same boat in open water made him anxious. He was nervous about open water anyway.

"There is still plenty of time to work things out, dear." Her mother amended.

Rapunzel nodded and folded her friend's letter back up. "I'm going to tell Eugene the news." She said, gathering up her book as well. She kissed both her parents on the cheeks and wished them good night.

The king and queen hugged their daughter, relishing her presence in their lives and wished her a good night. The long haired, blonde princess went to tell her boyfriend the exciting things she had learned that night.

…..

"Boys! I thought I told yeugh ta stay out of muh room!" Merida shouted as she ran through the corridors. She turned a corner and found the place empty. The three devils were gone, probably using their network of passageways. She grunted in frustration. They had been going through her box of letters from Rapunzel and making paper hats and flyers from them and throwing them around the room. "If I ever get my hands on them…" She murmured. She'll have to hide her letters somewhere else; there were some things in them that were private, things shared between friends only.

She turned to go back to her room and found Maudi there, holding a letter in her hand. "Oh, morning Maudi. Wha' have yeugh got there?"

"A letter for you, miss." The maid held out the envelope. It was from Rapunzel; Merida immediately recognized the handwriting.

"Thank you." Back in her room she broke the seal and read what her friend had to say. A few seconds later she let out a squeal.

_The other day my parents also received an invitation to the coronation at Arendelle. _The letter read. _And I found out that Princess Elsa is my dad's niece. My cousin! I hadn't even thought that I had other family, and now I have two cousins roughly my age. And I was so excited to hear that you'll be there too. My parents are also thinking about letting me visit during the summer games as well._

The incident with her brothers momentarily forgotten, Merida felt her hopes rise; maybe the coronation won't be boring or stuffy after all, not with her friend there. A knock sounded on her door and her mother poked her head in.

"Is everything alright? I heard you from down th' hall." Queen Elinor asked.

Merida nodded and showed her the letter, pointing to the passage she had just read. "Rapunzel's going to Arendelle, too!"

"Tha's great news." Elinor smiled to see her daughter so happy. She saw how Merida felt about the idea of being put out there to attract a potential husband. It still bothered her that her daughter was still unmarried, though she respected her wishes to find love. She was glad that her daughter's friend would be there, though. Merida needed to be around other people her age more.

Later that night, Merida hung a white cloth from her window and went to sleep. In the morning her window was frosted over. She was dressed and outside, snacking on a hasty breakfast and riding fast to the stone grove. It was a chilly morning. Piles of snow still scattered around the ground and the new greenery was frosted over from the night. A familiar figure stood in the center of the ring of ancient stones, one of which had broken and still lay where it had fallen last year.

Merida dismounted Angus outside the circle, the horse still didn't like the place at all, and she joined Jack.

"What's up?" The winter spirit asked. Merida only put up the cloth when she really wanted to talk to him, which was usually to vent. But she didn't look frustrated today.

"Yeugh know that coronation thing I have to go to later this summer?" She asked. Her friend nodded, leaning on his staff. "Rapunzel's going to be there too! Apparently she's related to them."

"Really?" Jack asked. "That's so cool. You guys'll get to see each other again. Ooh, hey, I should tell Hiccup and see if he is going too. Then we can all go together. Like a reunion." He grinned.

"Yes!" Merida answered, her heart suddenly beating faster. She'll see Hiccup again. She felt so embarrassed after that last time she saw him. She still can't believe she kissed him. What did he think after she did that? What will he think when he saw her again? "I mean, tha would be fun."

Jack looked at her closely, noticing her face turning slightly red at the mention of his best friend. He didn't mention it, though he'd known about her crush for a while. He hadn't even told her about Astrid, or even Hiccup's response to what happened. He knew about the kiss, of course, Hiccup told him right after he'd joined him on the ship.

It hurt him a little. After knowing the red-head for three years, and having feelings for her, she fell for his best friend instead.

"I'll tell him about it later." He said, simply.

…..

The next day, a familiar cold breeze blew over the island of Berk.

"Okay, team. Run through maneuver four again, and Bucket, try to stay on target, please." Hiccup shouted over the wind. The three other dragons flew into position and they started again. Beneath him, Toothless made a sound and looked over at the cliff they were rounding. A slim figure wearing blue stood on the peak, waving. Hiccup raised a hand in response and turned his attention back to the activity.

After the maneuver was finished, he let his team have a break. They'd been drilling all morning and even the Nightfury was tiring. "We can never be too well prepared." He said to the grumblings of the newer riders in his crew. They were the ones that really needed the training, the others; Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Astrid, and Snotlout, just joined to keep up on their skills. After a brief rest, there'll be a few more drills and then everyone will go back to their other responsibilities around the island.

"Hiya." He said as his invisible friend joined him. Toothless greeted the winter spirit with enthusiasm and licked him affectionately.

"Whoa, nice to see you too, Toothless." Jack wiped dragon slobber from his jacket. "How's training going?"

"As well as can be expected." Hiccup removed his helmet and held it under his arm. "It's great that more people are joining in riding training, but it's still against most of their instincts to be in the air. A lot of them are hesitant, but it'll be better the more they practice."

"I'm sure. They're looking good though." Jack looked back at the various vikings interacting with their chosen dragons.

"So what have you been up too?" the viking rider asked, as they started walking away. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

"Ah, I've been around, here and there, frosting towns and mountains. I visited Merida yesterday." Jack looked at Hiccup.

"Really? How is she doing? And Rapunzel and Eugene, you hear anything about them?"

"Actually, yeah. Apparently both Merida and Rapunzel are going to a coronation at Midsummer in a kingdom called Arendelle."

"That name sounds familiar." Hiccup rubbed his chin. He'd heard it recently, but where? "I think my dad got an invitation to something like that."

"You should come, then we'll all get to hang out again like we did in Corona." Jack suggested. That'd be such a fun trip; all the people in the world who could see him, that he knew of, in one place again.

"I'll have to see how everything's doing by summer. There's still a lot of work to do with the academy and renovations around town, but that sounds fun. It would be nice to see everyone again." Hiccup remembered the kiss at the end of the weeklong celebration in Corona. He hadn't told Astrid about it; she'd get jealous, and he still thought back to it occasionally. It meant that Merida liked him, right? Or it could be just a goodbye custom in Scotland. He had a girlfriend, though, so it couldn't go anywhere anyway. What if it was awkward the next time they saw each other?

"Hiccup!" That was Astrid, calling him from on Stormfly. "Are we going to run another?" She asked on Stormfly.

"Yeah. Let's try some teamwork drills now." Hiccup answered, putting on his helmet. "See you later?"

"Yeah. " Jack answered looking up at the female viking. "You know, I still can't believe you haven't gotten her to see me yet."

Hiccup mounted his dragon and clicked his foot into place. "Me neither, then again, she does prefer to believe in things she can see and hit." He switched gears and Toothless prepared for take-off.

"That's true." Jack watched his friend soar up and join the group of dragon-riders- in-training.


	3. Departure

"I hate it when you have to go to these things." Astrid said as she helped Hiccup pack. Toothless was nosing through a pile of clothes strewn around the room and found something smelly. He sneezed and left a scorch mark on the floor.

"Toothless. You know those never come out." Hiccup reprimanded, folding a shirt and putting it in his bag. "I'm only going to be gone for two weeks, probably. I'll be back before you know it."

"Things are always boring when you're away, though." She sighed. "You make things exciting."

"Keeping an eye on the new riders will be pretty exciting."

Astrid gave him a look. "Are you sure I can't come with you? It would be fun. I've never been to that side of the sea."

Hiccup shook his head. "I would love it if you came, but I need someone here I can trust to take care of things. You know what Snotlout or Tuffnut and Ruffnut would do if they were in charge, and Fishlegs doesn't have the leadership skills to get people to listen to him." Plus, it would be awkward if his overly jealous girlfriend and Merida, who may or may not have a crush on him, were in the same place together. Things would most certainly escalate. He'll need to figure out what that was back in Corona and set things in order when he got to Arendelle.

Finished packing, Hiccup turned his attention to the night fury. He pulled out the latest tail model he'd been working on; something that'll allow Toothless to fly without his help. Toothless preferred flying with Hiccup, but when he was away, it allowed the dragon to still get around.

The catlike dragon dodged at first, playing and avoiding the removal of the saddle. "Come on, Toothless, unless you don't want to fly for the next little while." Hiccup said exasperated.

Toothless stilled and held his tail still while Hiccup approach cautiously. He twitched it out of the way at the last second and made a sound similar to laughing. Behind him, Astrid laughed and tackled the tail from behind. Together they managed to attach the tail and remove the saddle.

"There, you see? Isn't that better?" Hiccup asked and placed his hand on Toothless' head. The dragon snorted and twitched the tail, but left the it on. "I'm going to miss you buddy."

"Hiccup," Stoick the Vast called from outside. "The boat's ready. Are ye ready to depart?"

"Almost done, dad. I'll be done in a second." Hiccup answered. He turned to Astrid and Toothless. "Ugh, boats. Walk with me down to the docks?"

"Of course."

…..

"Can yea believe this?" Merida asked Rapunzel excitedly. "Travelin' to a new country together, meetin' yeughr cousins, seeing Jack an' Hiccup?"

The two princesses were in Merida's room in the castle DunBorough, packing up for the journey. Rapunzel already had her bags packed and was sitting on the bed; being a visitor in the castle for the past week, she'd kept all her things together. Merida had her things strewn around the room.

"I'm so excited. We'll have to go sightseeing while we're there; I want to see what it's like."

Uh huh." Merida agreed. "What do you think they'll be like, Elsa and Anna?"

"My mother told me that Elsa is turning twenty one, and that Anna is three years younger, eighteen. Other than that, I don't know much."

There was a knock on the door and Eugene poked his head in. "Are you two just about ready? The king said that the boat is ready to depart."

"Jus' about." Merida stuffed a few more things in her bag and grabbed her bow and quiver. "Now Ay'm ready."

Rapunzel grabbed one of her bags while Eugene carried the others down to the docks.

Soon, the two princesses were watching the shore get farther away as their ship set sail. On the docks, Merida's family waved, the triplets sitting in the arms of the King and Queen as they watched the ship sail away.

Queen Elinor had decided to let Merida go alone with Maudi as a chaperone to the coronation. It hurt her to let her daughter go without her, but Fergus pointed out that it would be a good experience to be out on her own. And there was Rapunzel to keep her company, and Eugene had promised to watch out for her.

On the ship, Rapunzel remembered the day she left Corona. Her parents had had something come up unexpectedly that required their attention and so were unable to come with her. They were sad to let Rapunzel go alone, too, and worried for her, of course, as she had only just returned to them and was already out travelling. She knew that it helped them to know that Eugene and a few guards were with her.

With Maudie, Eugene, and a company of twelve guards from both households, the two princesses sailed to the land of Arendelle.

…..

Jack Frost let his hand trail in the ocean as he sped across the water. The ship was somewhere nearby, he thought. Rapunzel and Merida should have left DunBorough by now, and he knew Hiccup was already en route to Arendelle. How hard was it to find a ship on the water just to say 'hi' to friends?

A splash caught his attention and he looked, expecting to see a fish or a whale swimming along. A fin slipped under the water and he smiled.

It was fun, flying over the ocean. The water didn't freeze when he touched it and so he could drag his fingers through the waves, or follow the waves and fly alongside families of dolphins. He just needed to make sure he didn't fall into the water. The wind had a hard time getting him out when that happened; he'd made that mistake a few times before.

Another splash sound behind him, and again to the side. There must be a school of fish swimming along this area, the winter spirit thought, looking into the blue water. Beneath the water he saw shapes gliding to and fro. Bright colors glinted in the sunlight.

Suddenly, he heard a laugh, a pretty, tinkling, girl's laugh.

"Who's there?" He asked out loud, slowing down and scanning the area. There was nothing around. No land or any ships, just the occasional fish splashing and wave.

As he scanned the area, a figure burst from the water and dived back under. It wasn't a fish. It looked like a girl, with a blue fish's tail.

"What?" He ran his fingers through his hair. A second fish girl jumped and dived, while the first popped her head above the water, blonde hair floating around her shoulders. "Mermaids?"

He watched as the second one, this one with a red tail and dark hair, surfaced next to the first. She looked up at the sky with wonder. "Wow. It's so beautiful."

"I told you. It's so blue and goes on forever." The first one responded enthusiastically.

The dark haired one turned around and scanned the horizon. "I'm so glad you convinced me to come up here."

"Just wait." The first one grabbed the others hands. "When the sun goes down, it's breathtaking. There will be color everywhere." She looked around. "Where's Coral? She should see this."

A third head came up, this one had a reddish brown colored hair, and Jack could see a dark green tail underneath. "Lina, Crysta! Did you know there are ships down there? We should go explore them later."

"Ooh, yeah," the blonde one said.

"Wait, aren't there sharks down there?" The dark one asked, she looked down nervously.

Jack didn't hear the rest as a sudden gust of warm air carried him up high in the air. "Hey." He protested. The warm wind didn't always get along with the cold wind, and it was summer.

He looked at the sun, it was starting to set and the mermaids were right, it was beautiful. He should try to find Merida and Rapunzel's ship before it got dark though, otherwise he'd be flying around all night.

…..

Rapunzel looked over the ocean as the sun set on the horizon, then she emptied the few contents of her stomach over the railing. She supposed that the view would be really pretty, if she wasn't so miserable right now.

Eugene rubbed her back as she stopped heaving and leaned into him. "It'll be over soon." He reassured. "As soon as you get your sea legs again everything will be better."

Rapunzel just nodded mutely.

Merida stood beside her and pointed to something in the distance. "Look who's heare."

Seconds later a cool breeze hit them and Jack Frost joined them by the balcony. "Hey, guys." He greeted. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a single ship in the ocean. Are you okay, Rapunzel?"

The blonde princess shook her head and leaned over the side again.

"She's seasick." Eugene explained.

"Oh." Jack frowned in sympathy. "Ooh, hey. Guess what I saw while I was flying? Mermaids! Coming up to see the sunset."

Merida snorted. "Mermaids? You think you actually saw mermaids?"

"Remember that you're talking to an invisible winter spirit." Eugene reminded her.

"Oh yeah." Merida looked closely at Jack. "What were they like?"

"Really pretty." Jack smiled.

**That last part with Jack was my nod to the Little Mermaid, Tangled, Frozen theory going around. The circumstances aren't the same of course, but I thought it deserved a little acknowledgment. **


	4. Reunion

_It's coronation day._ Rapunzel thought to herself. _They're opening the gates and I'm going to meet my cousins._ Her cousins. Family she hadn't even known existed until earlier this year. Family who have been living isolated, away from everyone else, like she was. What were they going to be like?

She checked her dress in the mirror. It was purple with a glittering skirt and laced corset. Her hair was spread across the room; she had brushed it out last night and washed the salt out of it. Sea voyages were like that apparently. They were not her favorite way to travel, that was for sure.

She went over next door to Merida's room and knocked. "Would you help me with my hair?" She asked. The majority of her blonde locks were still in her room.

"Sure, dear, if you'd help me with Merida's." Maudie had answered the door. Merida was fidgeting with her dress. "Have a seat."

Merida was fussing with her dress. "It's so tight. Why can't they make nice dresses that are comfortable and easy to wear?" She complained. It was similar to the one her mother made her wear at the games last year. Queen Elinor had packed it for her to wear for this event.

"What about that one instead?" Rapunzel pointed to another of the gowns laid out across the room, it had a black velvet bodice and a blue and green plaid skirt.

"I like that one better. I would have worn it instead, but wouldn't it be too warm for this weather?" She hesitated, but picked it up. "Ay'll just stand next to Jack if it's too hot." She had Maudie help her out of the light blue one she was wearing and into the new one.

"That looks good on you." Rapunzel told her.

"I like it." They giggled.

Rapunzel gathered up her hair and pulled it fully into Merida's room. And Maudie pulled out a basket of baubles and pins to decorate their hair with for the ceremony and celebration. Rapunzel felt excited, and even Merida seemed to be excited. She didn't even complain when Rapunzel tried to take a brush through her windswept tangles, except when it hurt. Merida confessed that she wanted to impress Hiccup and she wanted to make an effort for her mum while she was here to represent DunBorough well.

While the girls were getting ready, Hiccup, Jack, and Eugene went exploring the town. The courtyard in front of the gate was bustling with excited citizens getting ready to see their princesses for the first time in years. People were already gathering on the bridge leading to the castle. Stalls were open and venders were selling. Hiccup recognized a few of the other visiting dignitaries from the lantern celebration in Corona wandering around.

Jack had a little hard time winding through the crowd and a few people passed through him. The feeling never got old, being walked through, Jack thought. The expectation of brushing against someone and then the cold rush of being insubstantial never seemed to go away. After the sixth person went through him, Eugene suggested they move to a less populated area.

They found a place in the shade of one of the buildings surrounding the courtyard. Jack visibly relaxed in the cooler shade and less dense area. It seemed like most of the town was gathering for the coronation.

"Why do I have to wear this?" A kid was grumbling nearby.

"Because the queen has come of age. It's coronation day." His mother fussed over his outfit. Straightening his jacket and smoothing down his hair.

The boy pouted. "That's not my fault."

Jack burst out laughing. "Dressing up isn't that bad, is it?"

Eugene and Hiccup managed to hide their laughter until the mother and son moved farther away.

"For a kid, it's punishment." Eugene remarked.

Another couple passed by energetically. "I can't believe they're finally opening up the gates." A man was saying.

"And for a whole day." The woman next to him giggled. "Faster, Percy." She grabbed him and they ran off.

Hiccup watched them go. "It must really be rare for the gates to open like this."

"I stand by my theory that at least one of them is too ugly to be seen by the light of day. Maybe they were cursed as children like that one prince in France." Jack leaned against the building. Small slivers of frost formed over the wall where he touched the brick, but it quickly melted in the heat.

"Prince Adam? Yeah, that was rough for him I heard." Eugene commented.

A group of children ran by yelling and giggling. One of them was wearing a grass crown and another carrying a wooden sword.

"Your future is bleak." The one wearing grass chanted in a menacing voice, chasing the others. "Your kingdom will splinter. Your land shall be cursed with unending winter."

The other children groaned and objected while another one picked up the chant. "With blasts of cold." He waved his arms. "Will come dark art, and a ruler with a frozen heart. Then all will perish in snow and ice."

The kid made a final wave of his arms and as one, the children fell to the ground and pretended to die or freeze to death. The group of men watched uneasily.

The child with the sword stood up against the pretend cold and waved his sword about. "Unless." He cried. "you are freed with a sword sacrifice. Hah." He fake stabbed himself in the side and died while the others got up and cheered.

"Let's play again."

"I want to be the troll this time."

"You already played the troll, you get the sword."

"I want to do the dark art."

They were soon gone again. Jumping about and playing the strange little game again, running through the crowd.

"What just happened?" Eugene asked for a second.

Hiccup shrugged. "I guess it's a thing only the people here are familiar with, a story turned into a game or something."

"Do you think they know what they were really saying or doing?" Jack wondered. The rhyme they had recited disturbed him a little; it sounded prophetic almost, and darkly menacing. Ice spread a little further up the wall.

Eugene frowned thoughtfully, and turned to one of the people wandering the streets. "What were those kids reciting just now?" He asked.

The woman smiled. "It's an old prophecy we have here. We recite it each spring at the pageant to celebrate each new year without eternal winter. The children have turned it into a game." She continued walking.

"This place is kind of weird." Jack remarked.

_What is with these prophecies?_ Eugene wondered. And why were they so important to everyone lately?

The girls had finished getting ready and joined the boys. Eugene whistled when he saw them in their fine gowns and done-up hair. Hiccup and Jack stared for a moment before recovering and greeted them.

The group proceeded to the bridge where they joined the crowd in waiting. The gates were just about to open, according to the clock; just a few more minutes. There were people crowding around, both in the main square and on the bridge, and ships were still coming in, bringing foreign visitors.

"I'm so excited." Rapunzel whispered to Eugene. "I can't wait to meet Elsa and Anna. I want to see if I can talk to Elsa before the coronation."

"You look nice in that." Jack told Merida. Her hair had been pinned up with sparkling jewels. And the blue and green plaid skirt contrasted prettily against her fiery colored hair. She looked striking, and beautiful.

"I like it." Hiccup agreed.

Merida's face flushed as she smiled at the young viking, and she looked away. Jack felt a pang of jealousy. She still had a crush on his best friend. He saw Hiccup's face and it had a faint tinge to it. They were hiding it, but they were still thinking about that kiss, Jack suspected.

There was a stirring among the crowd and the clock struck. Then the gates swung open. The crowd pushed forward to get in and winding through the crown in the opposite direction came a young woman in a green dress. She was looking every which way with a smile on her face, practically skipping.

"Do you think-?" Eugene asked as she rushed past them.

"Was that?" Merida said at the same time.

"That could have been Anna. I don't think Elsa would have rushed out like that, not with the coronation in a little bit." Rapunzel mused.

"We should say hi." Hiccup suggested. Watching the princess twirl and dance. She swung around a sign banner on the side of the bridge and walked along the edge for a span.

"One would think that she'd never been outside at all." Jack said.

"Well can you imagine, being locked up for so long?" Merida asked.

"Yes." Rapunzel said quietly; looking after the girl who was likely one of her cousins.

"At least she doesn't look hideously ugly." Jack joked.

"Will yeugh stop with the ugly thing?" Merida swatted him in the arm, exasperated. "We don't know why the gates stayed closed. It could be for anything."

"Fine, fine. You're right. It is kind of mean." The winter spirit admitted, rubbing his arm.

"C'mon, let's go in." Eugene suggested. "Rapunzel and I want to go talk to Elsa before the coronation."


	5. Preparation

_It's coronation day._ Rapunzel thought to herself. _They're opening the gates and I'm going to meet my cousins._ Her cousins. Family she hadn't even known existed until earlier this year. Family who have been living isolated, away from everyone else, like she was. What were they going to be like?

She checked her dress in the mirror. It was purple with a glittering skirt and laced corset. Her hair was spread across the room; she had brushed it out last night and washed the salt out of it. Sea voyages were like that apparently. They were not her favorite way to travel, that was for sure.

She went over next door to Merida's room and knocked. "Would you help me with my hair?" She asked. The majority of her blonde locks were still in her room.

"Sure, dear, if you'd help me with Merida's." Maudie had answered the door. Merida was fidgeting with her dress. "Have a seat."

Merida was fussing with her dress. "It's so tight. Why can't they make nice dresses that are comfortable and easy to wear?" She complained. It was similar to the one her mother made her wear at the games last year. Queen Elinor had packed it for her to wear for this event.

"What about that one instead?" Rapunzel pointed to another of the gowns laid out across the room, it had a black velvet bodice and a blue and green plaid skirt.

"I like that one better. I would have worn it instead, but wouldn't it be too warm for this weather?" She hesitated, but picked it up. "Ay'll just stand next to Jack if it's too hot." She had Maudie help her out of the light blue one she was wearing and into the new one.

"That looks good on you." Rapunzel told her.

"I like it." They giggled.

Rapunzel gathered up her hair and pulled it fully into Merida's room. And Maudie pulled out a basket of baubles and pins to decorate their hair with for the ceremony and celebration. Rapunzel felt excited, and even Merida seemed to be excited. She didn't even complain when Rapunzel tried to take a brush through her windswept tangles, except when it hurt. Merida confessed that she wanted to impress Hiccup and she wanted to make an effort for her mum while she was here to represent DunBorough well.

While the girls were getting ready, Hiccup, Jack, and Eugene went exploring the town. The courtyard in front of the gate was bustling with excited citizens getting ready to see their princesses for the first time in years. People were already gathering on the bridge leading to the castle. Stalls were open and venders were selling. Hiccup recognized a few of the other visiting dignitaries from the lantern celebration in Corona wandering around.

Jack had a little hard time winding through the crowd and a few people passed through him. The feeling never got old, being walked through, Jack thought. The expectation of brushing against someone and then the cold rush of being insubstantial never seemed to go away. After the sixth person went through him, Eugene suggested they move to a less populated area.

They found a place in the shade of one of the buildings surrounding the courtyard. Jack visibly relaxed in the cooler shade and less dense area. It seemed like most of the town was gathering for the coronation.

"Why do I have to wear this?" A kid was grumbling nearby.

"Because the queen has come of age. It's coronation day." His mother fussed over his outfit. Straightening his jacket and smoothing down his hair.

The boy pouted. "That's not my fault."

Jack burst out laughing. "Dressing up isn't that bad, is it?"

Eugene and Hiccup managed to hide their laughter until the mother and son moved farther away.

"For a kid, it's punishment." Eugene remarked.

Another couple passed by energetically. "I can't believe they're finally opening up the gates." A man was saying.

"And for a whole day." The woman next to him giggled. "Faster, Percy." She grabbed him and they ran off.

Hiccup watched them go. "It must really be rare for the gates to open like this."

"I stand by my theory that at least one of them is too ugly to be seen by the light of day. Maybe they were cursed as children like that one prince in France." Jack leaned against the building. Small slivers of frost formed over the wall where he touched the brick, but it quickly melted in the heat.

"Prince Adam? Yeah, that was rough for him I heard." Eugene commented.

A group of children ran by yelling and giggling. One of them was wearing a grass crown and another carrying a wooden sword.

"Your future is bleak." The one wearing grass chanted in a menacing voice, chasing the others. "Your kingdom will splinter. Your land shall be cursed with unending winter."

The other children groaned and objected while another one picked up the chant. "With blasts of cold." He waved his arms. "Will come dark art, and a ruler with a frozen heart. Then all will perish in snow and ice."

The kid made a final wave of his arms and as one, the children fell to the ground and pretended to die or freeze to death. The group of men watched uneasily.

The child with the sword stood up against the pretend cold and waved his sword about. "Unless." He cried. "you are freed with a sword sacrifice. Hah." He fake stabbed himself in the side and died while the others got up and cheered.

"Let's play again."

"I want to be the troll this time."

"You already played the troll, you get the sword."

"I want to do the dark art."

They were soon gone again. Jumping about and playing the strange little game again, running through the crowd.

"What just happened?" Eugene asked for a second.

Hiccup shrugged. "I guess it's a thing only the people here are familiar with, a story turned into a game or something."

"Do you think they know what they were really saying or doing?" Jack wondered. The rhyme they had recited disturbed him a little; it sounded prophetic almost, and darkly menacing. Ice spread a little further up the wall.

Eugene frowned thoughtfully, and turned to one of the people wandering the streets. "What were those kids reciting just now?" He asked.

The woman smiled. "It's an old prophecy we have here. We recite it each spring at the pageant to celebrate each new year without eternal winter. The children have turned it into a game." She continued walking.

"This place is kind of weird." Jack remarked.

_What is with these prophecies?_ Eugene wondered. And why were they so important to everyone lately?

The girls had finished getting ready and joined the boys. Eugene whistled when he saw them in their fine gowns and done-up hair. Hiccup and Jack stared for a moment before recovering and greeted them.

The group proceeded to the bridge where they joined the crowd in waiting. The gates were just about to open, according to the clock; just a few more minutes. There were people crowding around, both in the main square and on the bridge, and ships were still coming in, bringing foreign visitors.

"I'm so excited." Rapunzel whispered to Eugene. "I can't wait to meet Elsa and Anna. I want to see if I can talk to Elsa before the coronation."

"You look nice in that." Jack told Merida. Her hair had been pinned up with sparkling jewels. And the blue and green plaid skirt contrasted prettily against her fiery colored hair. She looked striking, and beautiful.

"I like it." Hiccup agreed.

Merida's face flushed as she smiled at the young viking, and she looked away. Jack felt a pang of jealousy. She still had a crush on his best friend. He saw Hiccup's face and it had a faint tinge to it. They were hiding it, but they were still thinking about that kiss, Jack suspected.

There was a stirring among the crowd and the clock struck. Then the gates swung open. The crowd pushed forward to get in and winding through the crown in the opposite direction came a young woman in a green dress. She was looking every which way with a smile on her face, practically skipping.

"Do you think-?" Eugene asked as she rushed past them.

"Was that?" Merida said at the same time.

"That could have been Anna. I don't think Elsa would have rushed out like that, not with the coronation in a little bit." Rapunzel mused.

"We should say hi." Hiccup suggested. Watching the princess twirl and dance. She swung around a sign banner on the side of the bridge and walked along the edge for a span.

"One would think that she'd never been outside at all." Jack said.

"Well can you imagine, being locked up for so long?" Merida asked.

"Yes." Rapunzel said quietly; looking after the girl who was likely one of her cousins.

"At least she doesn't look hideously ugly." Jack joked.

"Will yeugh stop with the ugly thing?" Merida swatted him in the arm, exasperated. "We don't know why the gates stayed closed. It could be for anything."

"Fine, fine. You're right. It is kind of mean." The winter spirit admitted, rubbing his arm.

"C'mon, let's go in." Eugene suggested. "Rapunzel and I want to go talk to Elsa before the coronation."


	6. Coronation

"Do you think I could talk to Queen Elsa? I'd like to meet her." Rapunzel asked the servant standing next to the door to the assembly hall. "You see, I'm her cousin, and I didn't even know I had a cousin until earlier this spring."

The servant shook his head. "I'm sorry, M'lady, the queen is still preparing. You may talk to her after the coronation at the party."

"But… Are you sure?" Rapunzel felt her heart sink.

"It's the Queens orders." The servant told her. "The ceremony will start presently, please take your seats."

Eugene put an arm around the princess. "Come on. We can talk to her later."

Rapunzel nodded her head and let him guide her back to the others.

"What happened?" Jack asked, noticing Rapunzel's disappointed expression.

'I guess we'll have to meet the queen along with the other people here." Eugene explained.

A young man approached the group and tapped Merida on the shoulder. "Hello again." Prince Hans smiled.

"Oh, it's yeugh. Hello." The red-headed princess greeted.

"I'd like to apologize again for hitting you with my horse." He bowed.

Merida inwardly rolled her eyes. "I wasn't really hurt." She held up the hand she had scraped in her fall. "See? It's already better."

Hans looked relieved. "I'm so glad. I was also hoping… that you'd grace me with a dance later tonight? At the party?" He shifted nervously.

Merida blinked, taken aback. She was actually being asked to dance, before the actual dance? "Uh, yeah. Sure. I'd like that." She said after a second.

A trumpet sounded and the audience hall quieted down.

"Until then." Hans said, quietly. He touched his lips to the back of her hand, and returned to his seat across the aisle. He glanced back and smiled at Merida, who waved back.

The others in the group had noticed the exchanged and were watching her expectantly when she turned to them again.

"So who was that?" Jack prompted.

"The guy that hit me with his horse, yesterday. Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, he said his name was." Merida explained. Her face flushed, at the thought of her encounter with him.

"He's handsome." Rapunzel looked over to where he was sitting.

Eugene cleared his throat. "Not as handsome as the dashing man with the super human good looks sitting next to you, I hope." He put an arm around Rapunzel and smiled.

Rapunzel leaned into him. "Of course not. What would make you think otherwise?"

"Just checking." He kissed her.

Jack groaned. "Oh, get a room you guys. We're at a formal gathering here."

"Her Highness, Queen Elsa of Arendelle." The servant announced, and opened the doors to reveal a young woman with light blonde hair pulled into a bun, and wearing a dark blue gown and purple cape. She took her place on the altar and looked out at the audience with a solemn expression.

"Her, Highness, Princess Anna of Arendelle." The servant announced again and the girl in green they had seen earlier entered the room. She stood to the side of the altar.

Hiccup nudged Jack with his elbow. "See, neither of them turned out ugly, pay up." He whispered and held out a hand.

Jack sighed and dropped a few coins in his friend's hand. "They could be cursed."

"Why do you have money?" Merida asked, looking at the coins. "Yeugh dinnae need them."

"Ssshhh." Someone behind them shushed.

A choir started singing in the upper balcony and the ceremony started. During the ritual, Jack noticed Anna looking into the audience and waving. The prince that had come and talked to Merida waved back. The winter spirit looked over to his friend, but she had been whispering something to Rapunzel and missed it. There was something he didn't like about the prince.

At the altar, Elsa pulled off her gloves and took up the scepter and globe. She turned to face the audience solemnly. The pastor recited something in Latin and pronounced her; "Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Cheered the audience.

…..

The dancing and music among the richly furnished ballroom quieted as the Queen and Princess of Arendale entered the room.

"I'm going to introduce myself." Rapunzel told the others resolutely. She had been turned away earlier, but now she could finally meet her cousins. She grabbed Eugene's hand and pulled him through the crowd of guests beginning to dance again.

"Wait for me." Jack said, "I'll come too."

"We'll all come say 'Hi'." Hiccup added, following.

Merida agreed and took a step to follow, but tripped over the hem of her skirt. She almost fell to the ground but a hand grabbed her wrist.

"Hans." She said, startled.

"Glad I caught you this time." He pulled her up and bowed. "May I have this dance?"

Merida giggled. "Ay suppose I owe yeugh one. But my friend was aboot to introduce herself to th' queen and I was going to go wi' her."

"Just one dance?"

Merida looked over to her friends who were standing in line to meet the queen behind a small, elderly man who was talking with the Queen and Princess. As she watched he looped his arm with Anna's and pulled her into the crowd to dance. She looked back at Hans, with his hopeful eyes and nodded. She could join her friends later.

The Prince grinned and swept her gracefully into the center of the floor. He was a beautiful dancer, and it almost didn't matter that she didn't know any of the dances from this country.

Rapunzel approached the dais, and a steward standing near the queen asked for her name and title to introduce her. She told him, as did Eugene and Hiccup. She noticed that Merida wasn't with them, and scanned the crowd for her. She spotted the red-headed princess dancing with the man from the coronation.

The steward cleared his throat and announced them to the queen. "Princess Rapunzel of Corona, Eugene Fitzherbert of Corona, and Hiccup… Horrendous Haddock, the third." He made a slight face at that name and Hiccup cringed.

"It's times like this when it would be nice to be visible. It sucks getting left out of introductions all the time." Jack grumbled next to Hiccup.

Hiccup leaned over and whispered. "Maybe if we stay here long enough, we can get one of them to see you, too."

Jack grinned at that. "Then they could join the 'See Jack Frost Club."

"And we'll be able to test my theory." He had developed a few hypotheses over the last year about what allowed him and the others to see the winter spirit while no one else could. He felt that it had to something with saying Jack's name out loud and talking about him, or by believing in the possibility that he was a real entity. It was a work in progress, and none of the vikings on Berk were all that open minded about the possibility of an actual spirit of winter bringing the morning frost.

"Did you say Corona?" Queen Elsa asked.

"My parents were related to your parents." Rapunzel answered excitedly. "I'm your cousin." She came forward to embrace her newfound kin, but Elsa took a step backward.

"I didn't know I had a cousin. My father said that the princess of Corona was stolen as a baby, it was to her sixteenth birthday that they…" She stopped and bit her lip, then regained her composure.

Rapunzel hesitated. "A witch stole me away and raised me in a tower. I didn't know I had family until last year."

Elsa's eyes softened. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. It's nice to meet you, and…" She looked at the others.

"Oh, this is Eugene, my boyfriend. And this is Hiccup and…uh." Rapunzel almost introduced Jack. It was hard to remember sometimes that other people can't see him. "He's a viking from Berk."

"A viking? Really?" Elsa looked at him. Jack had a sneaking suspicion that she was just being polite.

Hiccup was saved from talking about his home island by Anna returning from dancing with the ambassador from Weseltown, or wherever he was from.

"Whoa, he was spritely, especially for a man in heels." The princess complained. She reached down to readjust her shoes and looked up. "Oh, hello." She noticed Rapunzel, Eugene and Hiccup standing there.

"Anna, this is our cousin, Rapunzel, from Corona." Elsa introduced. "And her friends."

Anna beamed. "Hi! I didn't know we had a cousin. This is so exciting." She shook everyone's hand. "Hi, my name is Anna, but I guess you already knew that, since you're here for my sister's coronation." She pulled Rapunzel into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you. Will you be staying here long? I'd love to get to know you more. Ooh, tomorrow we should have breakfast together, you and your friends."

Rapunzel looked at Eugene, her eyes excited. He could tell that this was she had hoped when she met her cousins.

"Anna." Elsa tried to cut in on her sister's excited rambling.

"We should invite all the visiting royalty even. Or maybe the whole town again like tonight."

"Anna."

"Wouldn't that be great, Elsa?" Anna turned to the queen, bouncing with energy.

Elsa frowned, "Will you excuse us for a second?" She asked Rapunzel

Eugene, sensing something private was going on, nodded. "Of course." And steered a protesting Rapunzel away. "Let's go see where Merida disappeared to."

Hiccup followed, but Jack stayed behind, curious about what was going on.

"What's the matter?" Anna asked her sister, her energy deflating.

Elsa shook her head. "We can't go inviting people into the castle after tonight."

"But why? Wouldn't it be nice to have the gates open and have visitors and people over?" Anna asked. Jack noticed a slight desperation creeping into her voice.

"Of course it would. But it can't."

"But why not? I mean if we just-"

Elsa turned away. "It just can't." She said with finality.

Anna took a step back, disappointment written over her face. She took a few breaths, then excused herself, disappearing into the crowd.

"What are you hiding?" Jack wondered. The steward tactfully waited a moment for the queen to regain her composure, then politely introduced the next people in line to meet her. Jack went and joined his friends.

They spotted Merida's mass of red hair easily, dancing with the Prince Hans. One dance had turned to two, and a third song had started.

"It looks like she's having a fun time." Jack commented. They watched as Hans said something to Merida that made her laugh. He noticed Anna standing in the background alone, looking upset. "Hey, Hiccup, you should ask Anna to dance. She looks pretty upset." He pointed.

"You're right. What was all that about, anyway?" Hiccup asked, looking back at Queen Elsa. She had was conversing politely with other guests.

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm not sure, something about Anna wanting the gates open, but Elsa saying that they can't be open. It's kind of confusing."

"The whole thing is weird." Eugene agreed. He looked into the crowd and frowned. "I'm going to go get some punch. Anybody want some?" He asked suddenly.

Rapunzel nodded. "Thank you." She was still looking back at the dais.

Hiccup excused himself and approached Anna by the buffet table. Jack watched as he said something to her and held a hand out. She smiled and brushed a wisp of her hair back before accepting his offer. The viking led her onto the dance floor.

"Well." Jack turned to Rapunzel. "I know it might look a little weird to other people, but," He gave a bow. "Princess Rapunzel of Corona, would you care to dance with me?"

"Huh?" Rapunzel looked away from Queen Elsa. "Oh, of course." She cleared her throat and curtsied. "I'd be honored, Jack Frost of Winter."

Jack laughed and took her hand. Instead of guiding her onto the dance floor, he led her out onto one of the balconies and dancing to the music coming from inside.

"I'm not a very good dancer," He admitted. It was almost unreal to be dancing with someone. He was always amazed at the fact that there were people who could see and touch him.

"I'm not very good either," she responded.

They fell into a rhythm, and the music inside picked up speed. Jack gave Rapunzel a twirl and she clapped and stepped around him. They laughed and came back together. "You're a beautiful dancer." Jack told her. "Tell me if you get cold, we'll go inside."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. It's so warm out here."

The two started talked, as the song went on. He asked her about how things were going back home, and how she was doing with Eugene. She asked about the different places he'd seen on his travels.

…..

Eugene made his way to the buffet table and poured himself a drink. Out of the corner of his eye he watched an elderly couple in the background. They were talking to some other couple, and were facing away from him so he couldn't see their faces clearly. It might or might not be them. He wasn't sure at first, but they had looked familiar and after what the guardians had told him, it was possible that they were…

The couple turned and he could see their faces. It was them, Gothel and Mildew. They were hiding in plain sight among the well-dressed crowd, blending in with the high society dignitaries and royalty.

That meant the guardians were right, about them being here. Something was going to happen tonight, like they said. _But what are they waiting for?_ He wondered. And what were they going to do?

…..

Another dance ended and Merida asked Hans for a break. She couldn't remember ever dancing like that for so long. Her shoes were starting to hurt, and she was getting warm. Hans offered to get a couple drinks for them and they left the dance floor. Shortly after he was gone, Hiccup and a pretty girl in green approached her.

"Hiya Hiccup. Yeugh must be Anna." Merida greeted. "Where're the others?"

"I think they're somewhere over there." He pointed to where he had last seen Jack and Rapunzel. "Anna, this is Merida, a close friend of mine and Rapunzel's." The viking introduced.

Merida nodded and smiled. "It's nice to meet yeugh."

Anna squealed and threw her arms around Merida in a hug. "It's nice to meet you too! I love meeting all these new people." She pulled back. "Where are you from? I don't recognize your accent. Then again I guess I wouldn't be able to recognize a lot of accents since I never really leave the castle. Is your homeland far away?"

Merida widened her eyes in surprise at the hug. She hadn't expected the mysterious recluse princess to be this friendly or excitable. She looked at Hiccup and he just shrugged, amused. "Ay-uh, I'm from DunBroch from the Scottish Highlands. Aboot four days away by boat." She explained

Anna's eyes lit up. "Really? What is it like there? I've read about there in some of the books in the library. I have a lot of time on my hands to spend reading about other place like that. I've read stories and myths about will'o'the'wisps, and magic, and demons and fairies running through the forests."

Merida smiled and told the princess about the forests and cliffs overlooking the ocean and that she had seen the wisps appear on some occasions. "Some say, that Will-o-the-wisps lead you to your fate."

"Wow. Really?"

Hans came up with two glasses of punch and looked at the newcomers in surprise. "Oh, Hello there."

"Hans!" Anna greeted excitedly.

Merida and Hiccup shared a look. _How did she know the prince?_

"Your Highness." Hans bowed his head. "I was just bringing two lovely women a refreshing drink." he said smoothly, and passed over the glasses of punch to Merida and Anna. Then he held out a hand to Hiccup. "I don't think we've had the pleasure. My name is Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

"Hiccup, from Berk." The viking answered. He still hated his name. Tolerating the looks he got for his common name, like the one Hans was giving him, was better than having to say his full one over and over again.

"Hiccup? That is an unusual name." the prince frowned.

"My people are fond of giving their children names like this. It's kind of a superstitious thing." Hiccup explained.

"Ooh, really?" Anna asked. "So other people in your village have names like yours?"

Merida remembered having a similar conversation the night she first met Hiccup. She had been surprised to find her imaginary best friend in a foreign castle, and even more surprised to find out that he was there with another friend. And now here she was a year later in the same situation.

"He has a cousin named Snotlout." She told the other princess. Anna put a hand up to her mouth as she giggled.

"And I have a friend whose name is Fishlegs." Hiccup added.

The current song ended and a new one began. Hans gave a little cough. "As fun as it would be to hear more of your people's weird names," he turned to Hiccup. "Would you mind if I asked the Princess Anna for a dance?"

"If it's alright with Anna and Merida." Hiccup indicated the princesses next to him. "I don't mind."

Hans looked to Merida, who shrugged and nodded her head, then he held out a hand to Anna, and asked her dance. She said yes and they moved to the dance floor.

"That was tedious." Merida commented once they were gone. "He could'a just asked her in the first place."

"He was probably trying to be polite." Hiccup said. He bowed to Merida and held out his hand. "Do you want to dance too?"

A small blush crept into Merida's cheeks as she agreed and let him guide her onto the dance floor. After a moment of silence, she spoke up. "Hans is nice. And funny, too. He said he'd like tae get to know me more."

"That's good." Personally, there was something about the other man that Hiccup didn't like. The way he held himself probably. Hiccup let the conversation drop.

Another silence passed. Hiccup didn't know what to say. Things still felt awkward between them. He knew they should talk about the kiss, but he couldn't think how to broach the subject.

"Listen." He said at the same time she said, "Hey"

"Um. About what happened back in Corona." He continued.

Merida looked down. "I didn't mean for that to happen. It just sort of…" she shrugged.

_But did it mean anything?_ Hiccup wondered. "Things have been a little weird between us since that."

"Does it have to be? Weird?" She asked. She'd dreaded this conversation.

"No. It's just that..." He should tell her about Astrid. He liked the red headed princess, but he also knew that Astrid would strangle him if he so much as looked at another girl.

"You don't feel that way about me." Merida finished. She saw that coming; of course the first guy she liked wouldn't have feelings for her. She regretted that stupid impulsive kiss on the cheek she gave him last year. "I didnae mean anything. Just goodbye." She told him.

"No, I…" Hiccup frowned. "It didn't?" He felt his heart sink slightly. Even though he had Astrid, it had felt nice to think someone else was interested in him.

Merida took a deep breath. "No. We're friends, right?" The song ended and she stepped away.

"Yeah. Of course." _What just happened?_

Merida looked around the ballroom. "Where did you say the others went again?" She said changing the subject. "Ay havnea seen them."

"One of the balconies, I think." Was that it? All that fuss and worrying over that peck on the cheek and it ends with 'We're just friends'? Merida walked resolutely to the line of doors opening to balconies. Hiccup followed behind, still trying to figure out what happened.

They found Rapunzel, and Jack outside talking. "Coming out for fresh air?" Jack asked.

"It was getting a bit warm in there." Hiccup answered. "Where's Eugene?"

Rapunzel looked at the guests inside. "He came back a while ago with drinks and left again. He didn't say where he was going." That had been a few songs ago. He was distracted when he came back, too. "I should go see where he went." She stood up.

"Ay'll come wi' you." Merida offered. Once back inside, she gabbed Rapunzel and pulled her to the side. "I talked to Hiccup."

"What did he say?"

"That things were weird between us. Which they are, but he admitted it."

"They kind of are." Sensing her friend needed to talk; Rapunzel pulled her over to a bench along the wall. "Eugene can wait."

…..

Jack looked between Hiccup and at the doorway the girls had gone though. "Okay, what happened between you two?" He noticed something different when they came in, and something was telling him they had talked about the kiss.

"She told me that it meant nothing." Hiccup was looking at the door, too. "She said it was a goodbye kiss, and we were friends."

Jack raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Isn't that good? Now you don't have to worry about going behind Astrid's back."

The viking shrugged. "I guess. It's just, I thought… No, never mind, you're right. And she did save me from having to explain about Astrid."

"You liked the idea of her liking you." Jack filled in what his friend wasn't saying.

"She was different from the girls on Berk. I guess I was wrong to think that she was interested in me."

"Well," Jack sighed inwardly. _I can't believe I'm doing this. _"I've never seen her kiss anyone else goodbye on the cheek, except for her family. What did you tell her?"

"That things were weird between us since we last saw each other." He saw Jack make a face. "What? They were, and we needed to talk about it."

"And then what happened?"

"I don't know, it happened so fast and suddenly she was saying that it didn't mean anything." Something on one of the other balconies caught Hiccup's eye. "Hey, is that Anna and Hans?" The two were sitting together a few balconies over.

"Yeah, weren't you dancing with her, and Hans dancing with Merida?" Jack peered over the edge.

"He wanted to switch partners for a song. I forgot after dancing with Merida and we came over here."

"Looks like they're getting along well." Jack commented as the prince and princess got up, climbed over to the next balcony over and slipped between the doors back into the castle.

**I've received a few reviews asking about the pairings of the characters and I'm just going to tell you that the relationships are going to be dynamic. Besides Anna maybe, none of the characters are going to jump right into a relationship unless they're already in one. I plan on having the relationship aspect of this story be complicated, so be prepared. **


	7. Ice

"I don't know what to feel anymore." Merida finished. She'd told Rapunzel what had happened during her dance with Hiccup and had all but shredded the pastry a passing servant had offered her.

Rapunzel put a hand on her friends arm. "You haven't seen each other for a year. It's bound to be just a little awkward, especially since the last time."

Merida stood up, unable to contain her energy. "I don't even know what that kiss was for. It was impulse." She snorted. "And my mum wanted me tae marry last year. I don't know the first thing about any of this."

Rapunzel smiled. "I don't even understand Eugene sometimes." She confided. "Like why he left in such a hurry earlier." She paused as if thinking then stood up. "Come on, let's forget about them for a while. I smell chocolate." She took Merida's hand and started to make her way to the food bar across the room.

"There you are." A voice called out behind them.

"Speak of him and he shall appear." Merida murmured quietly. Rapunzel giggled.

"Where did you go off to so fast?" She asked him when he caught up with them in the crowd.

"I thought I saw some old acquaintances of mine and thought I would say hello." The former thief said simply. "And then I realized that I haven't danced a single dance with my princess at this party." He made a sweeping bow and held out his hand. "Princess Rapunzel, may I have this dance?"

Eugene was lying. He had realized that he'd hardly spent any time with Rapunzel since they got to the party, but before that, he had been keeping eyes on old Gothel and Mildew. But they only talked with the other guests, talked to each other, and cast the occasional eye toward Queen Elsa, and to the others. They didn't do anything suspicious though, which made him feel uneasy about what they were doing there. _What was going to happen tonight?_ After a couple songs of this, he realized watching them wasn't going to get him anywhere, and they probably won't do anything for a dance or two.

Rapunzel looked at Merida. "See what I mean? Will you be okay for a few dances?"

"Go and dance already yeugh two lover birds. Ay'll be over there tryin' the chocolate fondue." Merida waved them off.

She watched as Eugene and Rapunzel spun onto the dance floor. She really didn't understand men.

…..

"Do you think they found Eugene yet?" Jack asked. They'd be sitting out on the balcony for three songs now. The music had quieted down and the murmur of people talking took its place.

The viking shrugged. "They'd come back if they did, wouldn't they?"

"I would think..." They fell silent for a while. A full moon had risen over the night and hung glowing in the dark sky. It seemed bigger tonight, somehow, watchful almost... Jack shook his head. The moon may have given him life, and told him his name, but never anything more than that. "Hey, do you want to go explore the castle?" He was getting bored just sitting there, plus he was curious about the castle that had stayed locked for so many years.

Hiccup looked in at the ballroom where guests still danced, then he shrugged again. "Why not? Wait, do you think that's allowed?"

Jack shrugged. "Who cares? What would they do? Kick a visiting dignitary out for exploring? Come on." He called the wind to lift him to the next set of windows over, and looked inside. It led to the ballroom. Hiccup hesitated for a second before following after.

"See that door off to the side of the thrones?" The winter spirit, pointing to the door the queen had first come through. "Let's see where that leads." He started for it, winding his way through clumps of people talking.

"Wait for me," Hiccup called as he followed after. His metal foot caught in a woman's dress as he passed and he tripped. "Sorry." He apologized and detangled himself. He gave her a little bow and backed out of her way into a short wiry man with glasses.

"Watch where you're going." The man snapped, and turned to one of two men standing next to him. "Young people have no respect these days for visiting dignitaries like me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Hiccup told him. He somehow managed to wind his way out of the sea of people. Jack was standing in a little distance away, watching with amusement. "Laugh all you like," Hiccup said. "It's hard to walk through crowds of people when you're solid."

The winter spirit put his hand on his chest, his face a mask of mock horror. "Laugh at my friend for getting tripping over someone's lace? I would never."

"Ha Ha." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "So, are we going to explore or not?"

"What did I ever do to you?" Someone's voice rose above the crowd. Jack and Hiccup looked to see Anna and Elsa in the center of the room.

"Enough Anna." Elsa was heading for the main door. She had her arms folded in front of her and her shoulders hunched forward like she was uncomfortable.

"No. Why, why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out?" the princess's voice rose. "What are you so afraid of?"

Elsa had reached the door, but turned at this last question. "I said, enough!" She shouted and waved her hand. A wave of jagged ice rose out of the floor in a circle around her.

Jack felt his jaw drop.

Hiccup looked at him? "Did she just…?" He asked.

The winter spirit looked at his hands. "I know I didn't."

The party guests backed away from the ice and gasps filled the room. The queen held her hand close to her chest and looked around her, her eyes wide with fear. Silence filled the room.

"Sorcery." Someone said. Hiccup recognized him as the ornery man he bumped into. He mumbled something else, too quiet to hear from where Jack and Hiccup were standing.

Elsa opened the door and fled through the halls. The wiry man was quick to follow, his two companions on his heels. Anna looked at the doorway her sister had gone through, shocked, In her hand she held a glove which probably was Elsa's. A second later she was off running too, around the line of sharp icicles and through the door. Prince Hans followed behind her.

"What just happened?" Jack asked in the quiet room. Slowly people began to talk again, whispering fearfully to each other.

"I don't know." Hiccup said. "She created ice, just like you can."

"Hiccup, Jack!" Rapunzel, Eugene, and Merida came running over. "Did you see what just happened?" Rapunzel asked.

"Did yeugh do that, Jack?" Merida asked.

"No." Jack protested. "I didn't do anything, I swear." He looked over at the jagged ice rising out of the ground. "I don't know if I could even do something that big."

"Then my cousin did that?" Rapunzel asked her eyes wide. "How? Why?"

"She looked scared." Hiccup said. "Like she didn't mean to do it."

_So that was what the guardians were talking about. _Eugene thought. _That's what Gothel and Mildew were waiting for. They weren't going to do anything, it happened on its own. _He scanned the room, looking for the elderly couple. There, in the corner. They were talking to a tall, pale man dressed all in black. A surge of fear rushed through Eugene unbidden as he realized Pitch Black was here, too.

"We should follow her." Rapunzel said. "Make sure she's okay." She started running around the ice to get to the door. Other guests were starting to make their way through the small gap the ice had left between it and the wall.

"Wait up." Merida called as she followed, along with Hiccup and Jack.

Eugene hesitated before following. He cast one more glance at the group in the corner. Mildew had a satisfied smirk on his face, while Gothel was serious. _What else are they planning?_ He wondered.

Outside, more civilians were standing around in confusion. The doorway was covered in a thin layer of ice, and one of the two fountains in the courtyard had been frozen over, forming a jagged and sharp sculpture of ice rising high.

"It's snowing." Merida said, as s snowflake touched her nose. "But it's summer."

The group looked up and saw a cloudy dark sky, the full moon a faint outline behind the clouds. Snow began to fall thicker, and the temperature was dropping increasingly fast. Rapunzel shivered in her thin dress and Eugene offered her his jacket.

"The curse." "It's happened." "Why now?" Voices were asking through the square. "Eternal Winter." "We're doomed!"

Hiccup remembered the children they had seen earlier that morning, playing a game of magic and curses. How did it go again?

"You future is bleak… your land will splinter… your kingdom- no, your land shall be cursed with unending winter." Hiccup said softly.

"Wasn't that the game those kids were playing?" Jack asked. "With blasts of cold… will come dark art? Something about a frozen heart and ice and sword fighting, right?"

"Then all will perish in snow and ice, unless you are freed with a sword sacrifice." Eugene corrected softly. Did this tie into Gothel's plans? It fit what just happened here, but how could an old rhyme fit in with what Pitch and those others were trying to do now? Unless it was part of the prophecy the guardians mentioned.

"There's Anna." Jack pointed to a figure winding her way through the crowd. Hans was still with her.

Rapunzel rushed down the stairs to her cousin. "Are you okay? Where did Elsa go?"

"She ran away. Over the Fjord." She said numbly.

"It's frozen over." Hans told the group.

"It's snowing. It's snowing! The Queen has cursed this land! She must be stopped." The wiry old man was saying over by the frozen fountain, he turned and grabbed one of his companions by the ears. "You have to go after her."

"Wait, no." Anna turned to him.

"You." He hid behind his bodyguards. "Is there sorcery in you too? Are you a monster too?"

"No. No. I'm completely ordinary." The princess replied.

"Wait a minute." Merida interjected. "Just because the queen has snow powers dinnae make her a monster. Who said she did this on purpose?" She put a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder and glanced at Jack, thinking of her friends' own magic gifts.

"She nearly killed me. She attacked me with her magic."

"You slipped on ice." Hans said.

"Her ice."

"It was an accident. She was scared." Anna tried to explain.

"Didn't you see the way she was inside?" Hiccup added. "She looked terrified when that ice appeared."

"And having powers is nothing to be ashamed of." Rapunzel added.

"She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of this. Tonight was my fault. I pushed her, so," Anna took a deep breath. "I'm the one who needs to go after her. Bring me my horse." She called to one of the servants in the crowd.

"Is she crazy?" Jack asked. "It's only going to get colder out here. She'll freeze."

Hans put a hand on her shoulder. "Anna, no. It's too dangerous."

"Elsa's not dangerous." Anna assured him. "I'll bring her back and I'll make this right."

"I'm coming with you." The prince said.

"No. I need you here, to take care of Arendelle."

"We'll come." Hiccup said. "You could use the extra help."

"Thank you, but Elsa is my sister. She ran away because of me, I should be the one who gets her back."

Rapunzel took her cousins hand. "Please? Don't go alone."

"I'll be fine. I'll be back soon." One of the servants had brought out her horse and was waiting patiently to the side. Anna mounted up now, and someone handed her a cloak. "I leave Prince Hans in charge." She told the crowd.

"Are you sure you can trust her? I don't want you getting hurt." The prince asked, holding on to the reins of the horse.

"She's my sister," Anna reassured him, and the others gathered around her. "She would never hurt me. Then she snapped the reins and urged her horse forward at a gallop through the open gates.


	8. Plans

The group watched Princess Anna ride away. It was getting colder, and snow was falling more rapidly.

Hans turned away from the gate and looked at the people gathered in the courtyard. They were murmuring about the events of the night and looking to the sky as the snow fell. Guests from inside had come out as well to see what was happening. A lot of people were shivering from the drop in temperature.

"First things first," He said; "We need to distribute blankets and clothes to the public and collect firewood." The prince looked at Merida and her friends. "Will you four be willing to help me? I'll need as much help as I can get."

"Wait a minute. What aboot Anna? Are yeugh really goin' ta just let her go out alone in this?" Merida asked gesturing to the still open gates.

"I believe that she can do this. If anyone can bring back the queen, her sister can."

"But-"

"Listen, Merida." Hans put his hands on her shoulders. "Anna put me in charge of taking care of these people while she's out there, and my first priority is to make sure everyone here is safe and warm. If she's not back by dawn then I'll send people out to find both of them, but until then, I'm going to believe that she can convince her sister to come back."

Merida pursed her lips.

"Don't you remember last year, Merida?" Jack cut in. "That whole bear incident? You told me, right before you found the witch's cottage, you had been running away from home because you and your mom had a fight and she burned your bow. How would you have felt if a ton of people had come through the forest after you to take you back home?"

She relented. "Yeugh have a point." She remembered that night, fighting with her mom, wrecking the tapestry and seeing her bow flung into the coals. She had taken Angus and ridden through the forest, not caring where she went just as long as she got far away from there, away from her family, from the chieftains, from the castle. She would have hated it if anyone had followed her out there. Except for Jack; if he had come with her, he would have cheered her up or listened to her vent.

"We'll help you, Hans." Hiccup told the prince. "Just tell us what you need."

Hans let go of Merida and bowed his head. "Thank you."

"I don't think we've been properly introduced." Eugene stepped forward. "My name is Eugene, and this is Princess Rapunzel from Corona. She's Queen Elsa and Anna's cousin."

"It's nice to meet you." He shook Eugene's hand firmly. "Will you and Hiccup to gather up a group to search out any stores of firewood to use in the castle? And would you two help me find blankets inside?" He directed that last question at the princesses.

Rapunzel nodded. "Come on Merida." She pulled on her friend's hand, leading her toward the castle entrance.

"I'll join you in a minute." Hans said and stepped onto the rim of the frozen fountain. "Attention everyone; It looks like this storm is just going to get worse. I don't know how long this snow will last, but we'll need to do what we can to stay warm."

"It's the prophecy!" Someone shouted in the crowd. "The eternal winter has come!" Uneasy murmurs followed.

"I don't think so. Princess Anna is going to bring your queen back so she can unfreeze everything. Until then, I suggest you all return to your homes and try to stay warm. As for the rest of you who are visiting; the fjord has been frozen over, so there is no going in or out of Arendelle. There will be room in the castle to stay until this is all over."

The prince then began to organize groups and assign jobs to people who were willing to help. A castle servant came by and offered to show Merida and Rapunzel where extra clothes were stored.

"I hope they're okay." Rapunzel whispered before they went inside.

"I'll go watch over Anna, and find out where Elsa went." Jack offered. "Don't worry, I'll keep you updated."

Merida smiled. "You're really handy sometimes, yeugh know that Jack?"

"Only sometimes?" He asked with a crooked smile.

The red headed princess opened her mouth to retort, but the winds carried him through the air.

…..

"So what do you think about that Hans guy?" Hiccup asked Eugene as they piled logs in the fireplace in the castle ball room.

"He was quick to take charge, despite Anna going off alone like that." Eugene reached for another log. "Why do you think she put him in charge, instead of say, Rapunzel who's her cousin?"

The viking shrugged. "They looked pretty close; did you see him follow her after Elsa ran out?" He put the last piece of wood onto the fire and closed the grate.

Eugene wiped his hands on his trousers stood up. "You know more about that than I do." He scanned the room; taking in all the former coronation guests sitting around, some still wore their fancy dress while others had returned to their rooms for slightly warmer attire, though everyone had packed for summer weather.

In the corner an elderly couple stood watching him. They looked away whenever he looked in their direction, but he knew they've been watching him and the others. Gothel and Mildew. Where were the other two though? And what were they still waiting for? The curse had been enacted, the prophecy was coming true.

He glanced at them. Now they were looking at the nearest window where Eugene could see a large shadowy figure silhouetted in the light. He blinked and it and was gone. Gothel and Mildew suddenly stood up and exchanged a few words. Eugene watched them make their way to the main door of the ballroom.

"I don't know why, but something just bothers me about him." Hiccup was saying. "Looks like we're done here; want to go find the girls?"

"Uh, you go ahead." Eugene said, distractedly. "I'll be back."

The viking looked at him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just remembered I need to do something." He made his way through the groups of people after the seemingly harmless old couple.

Eugene followed them at a discrete distance through the twists and turns of the castle. _This place is huge_. He thought to himself as he made yet another turn in the corridors. He had no idea where he was in relationship to the front of the castle anymore, or even what floor he was on. _This place is too big for two young girls to live in by themselves all these years._

He rounded a corner and saw them standing at a door held open by a huge man. Quickly, he backed out of sight before they saw him. He waited until he heard a door close before he came around the corner again. The end of the hallway led out to an enclosed garden and through the window next to it, Eugene could see Mildew and Gothel standing next to the other man talking earnestly. He guessed that the other one was Mor'du, the Scottish bear prince who looked intimidating and slightly bear-like in his muscular mass. He had long hair and a beard and was wearing a fur cape and kilt, though nothing else despite the still dropping temperatures and snow. His arms and chest were banded in tattoo markings and an axe was strapped across his back. They were all standing next to a frozen pond under a willow tree covered in a snowy frost. The whole garden must have been very pretty in the summer, but was now a winter wonderland.

Cracking the door open slightly, Eugene was able to pick up some of what they were saying.

"-Thought everything was taken care of last year? Why are they here?" Mor'du was saying. Eugene suspected he was talking about his friends.

"Turned out the healer is related to the queen." Mildew told him. "The girl found she had kin and wanted to come meet them."

"They others are royal too, so they were invited to the coronation as well." Gothel added. She sounded so old. How did she age so quickly? It'd only been a year since that incident in the tower, and she had looked like a young woman then. "We should have seen this coming."

"Does he know about this?" Mor'du asked.

"He noticed them earlier, wasn't happy about it. Where is he anyway?" Mildew looked around the garden. From the crack in the door, Eugene could see dark figures moving in the shadows.

"Watching the key; He sent me to see what's happening here."

"Well, the princess has run off after her sister leaving some upstart prince in charge. He's been trying to manage the situation as best as he can, but fear is growing. Look at them." Gothel gestured to the shadows. From one stepped a large black horse and nuzzled the old woman in the shoulder. She crooned. Eugene could see others moving in the background and the sight of them made goose bumps rise on his arms. He suppressed a shudder.

"Smell the peoples fear, they do." Mildew cackled. "Been gathering since that event with the ice."

"And what about the four?" Mor'du asked.

"We've been watching them all night. Right now they are just helping that prince keep everything in order. They don't even know we're here."

"Except, perhaps the thief." Gothel said quietly. "He senses something's happening. He's the one to watch."

The black steed in the clearing gave a whinny and tossed its head in the direction of the door. From the crack Eugene could see another coming his way. Mor'du inhaled deeply though his nose and looked at the door as well. "I can smell him." He said and pointed.

That was Eugene's cue to leave. He had to get out of there and fast, he needed to tell the others about what was really going on here.

…..

Gothel and Mildew turned to look at the door leading back into the castle and saw what Mor'du was pointing at. It was open just a crack, and Mor'du had shut it after they went through. That meant someone was spying on them.

One of the NightMares stood next to the door and nudged it with its nose. The door swung open, and revealed an empty hall.

Gothel cursed. "Who knows how much he heard."

"He could be on his way to tell the four now."

Mor'du let out a bestial growl. "Find him and keep them under control. I will return to Pitch and tell him what has occurred."

"This is why I hate kids." Mildew muttered under his breath.


	9. Palace

**Attention readers. This is the chapter in which things really start to change from what I had before. I hope you enjoy. :)**

In the past few hours, snow had fallen deep enough to partially cover trees in some places. The temperature had dropped far below freezing and the forest surrounding the castle of Arendelle was quiet this midsummer's night. The air felt so nice to Jack. It was a welcoming rush of cool after the hot weather of summer. He couldn't help but enjoy this, even though he knew that it could lead to disaster for the kingdom and neighboring areas if it stayed this way for too long. Even now, from what he knew the effects his late spring frosts had, warm season plants were going to have a hard time recovering from this.

There was a single set of horse footprints leading into the woods toward the mountains, gleaming in the last of the moonlight. Jack flew along them, his wind sending up swirls of snow in his wake. Somewhere up ahead should be Princess Anna, which he'll check on to make sure she was okay, then he was going to go find Elsa, who was somewhere on the mountain.

The winds carried a faint sound to his ears, like someone's voice, though he couldn't make out the words. Maybe that was the princess, he thought and picked up his pace. Seconds later, he heard the voice clearly.

"Elsa, it's me, Anna. Your sister, who didn't mean to make you freeze the summer."

Aha, there she was. Jack spotted her up ahead on her horse, wading through the deep snow. "Well it looks like you're doing fine out here, on your own…" He commented.

"I'm sorry. It's all my f-fault." The princess continued yelling into the forest.

Jack noticed her shiver and pull her cloak tighter. "Though a little cold." He watched her press doggedly onward through the snow. "Now, where did Elsa go?"

The winter spirit flew on. He noticed the clouds in the sky were gathering more thickly around the North Mountain, blocking out the predawn light that heralded the break of day. The peak looked so lonely covered in white and standing taller than its neighbors, isolated.

If anywhere, that would be a place where someone who wanted to be alone would go. Jack flew around it, looking for any sign of life. The queen had to be around here somewhere; he felt sure that this would be where he would find her, though in all the white he couldn't see where.

The wind was having trouble holding him up, wild and turbulent as they were. He found himself spinning and tumbling more often than not and it was hard to keep going in a straight direction. The winds were confused. Summer and winter was combining and not mixing well. The winds were too busy trying to sort themselves out to carry him steadily.

A small dark shape swirled up to him and hit him in the chest. It was a green glove, the queen's.

"Conceal don't feel. Don't let them know." The wind whispered around him, more voices. This time it sounded like a multitude of Elsa whispering in his ear. "Conceal. Now they know. Don't feel. Let it go."

He slid the glove into his pocket for safe keeping and scanned the ground for her. She had to be somewhere near if the wind sensed her. "Come on, take me to the queen." He told the wind. "Help me find her." But a stray gust caught him up and blew him away from the mountain. He was tossed from wind stream to wind stream, and lost track of where he was. Eventually he was able to gain control and hold himself still so he could to reorient himself.

Suddenly, something hit Jack full in the face. It covered him like a blanket and he fell out of the air. The wind caught him quickly, but the cloth writhed and twisted around him in the swirling winds and he couldn't detangle himself. He decided to land on the ground before he got blown too far away. He may have to end up walking, but he wasn't going getting anywhere flying in this.

He called to the winds, through the cloak, to put him down, but they weren't listening to him. Instead, he felt himself catch an updraft and fly higher. He growled in frustration and then simply let go of his holds on the winds and dropped out of the sky. He detangled himself as he fell through the air and the cloak fanned out around him as he landed in a deep snow drift.

Jack lay there for a moment to catch his breath and waited for everything to stop spinning.

"Wow." A voice said. "That was a big fall. Hello? Are you all right?"

The winter spirit stiffened. _Who's that?_ He wondered. "Uh… Yeah. I'm fine." He peered out from the snow drift to look for the source of the voice. No one was there. Cautiously, climbed out and looked around, gathering up the cloak as he went. Who could be out here, other than the queen? And who could be able to see him? "Pretty rough up there…" He said.

"Oh, I know." Jack jumped and turned to see a small snowman standing next to him, looking up at him. "You were being blown every which way and then that thing hit you and you almost fell, and then you were blown around some more. Up and down, and away from the mountain and then back. And then you fell like a comet from the sky." The bundle of snow lifted its twiggy arms and demonstrated Jack's erratic flight path.

Jack stared at the creature, crouched down and watching fascinated as it finished its story. It had an oblong shaped head with three twigs sticking up from its head like hair. It had a smile with a single tooth on the top. Its body was made of two clumps of snow dotted with coal buttons, two smaller clumps of snow for feet, and two sticks for arms with four branches each for hands.

"At first I thought you were just another snowflake, a big one, and then I saw that you weren't, and when you fell, I wanted to make sure you were okay. And here we are." For all appearances, it was a real, breathing, talking, moving, living snowman.

"Okay…" This was weird. Where had the snowman come from? Did Elsa have something to do with it? "Um, thank you for your concern, uh…"

"Oh," The snowman pace-palmed. "Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs." He held his arms open as if inviting a hug.

"Hi... I'm Jack. And I'm afraid, my hugs aren't very warm."

Olaf looked like he was considering this, but shrugged. "All hugs can be warm if you want them to be." He hugged Jack.

The winter spirit's eyes widened in shock as the snowman wrapped its twiggy arms around him, but he returned the hug a second later. Jack didn't get hugged very often, mostly due to the limited number of people who was able to see him.

"See?" Olaf said, when he pulled away. "That felt warm to me."

Jack smiled, then raised an eyebrow at that. One of the other reasons he didn't hug much is because he knew that his whole body was cold. To hug him would be like, well, hugging winter. Or a snowman. "Trust me, Snowball. I'm nowhere close to the definition of warmth." He told him.

"Oh." Olaf looked confused.

The sound of rumbling drew their attention and suddenly the ground started to shake. The snow drift Jack had landed in started to fall apart.

"What is that?" He asked the snowman, who just shrugged.

The rumbling was coming from up ahead, toward the peak of the Northern mountain. A second later, they could see something forming on the horizon. The sight appearing on the cliffs of the north mountain made Jack's jaw drop as he realized what it was. A crystalized palace was rising up. It was forming on the side of the mountain like ice on a dewy leaf, or like frost spreading from his touch on a window pane. Behind him, the sun was peering over the horizon and touched the castle of ice with its light, causing it to sparkle and glow. The effect was surreal.

"Elsa." Olaf breathed next to the winter spirit. "Oh, It's beautiful."

"You think Queen Elsa made that?" Jack asked, still awe-struck.

"Yeah."

"And did Elsa make you?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." Never in his life, had Jack dreamed that there was someone out there with powers like his. But there was, and she just created a palace out of pure ice, and gave a snowman life. How strong was this woman? Where did her powers come from? And what caused her to run away to the mountains like this?

There were so many questions. "I want to get a closer look." He told the snowman. He gripped the cloth bundle tightly in his arms, and looked into the sky. Did he dare try to fly? He didn't want to be blown all around the mountain again. It didn't look too far to walk. "Wanna come?" He asked Olaf.

"Really?" The little snowman said. "I've always wanted to see an ice palace."

Jack cocked his head as the snowman started forward, waddling on little legs through the snow. Olaf was a strange little being.

The air seemed different now, calmer, Jack noticed as he walked with Olaf. It was as if the storm had passed and that the warm and cold agreed to a truce in the new dawn light.

_The cold never bothered me anyway._ The wind whispered softly.

"So, what are you holding, Jack?" Olaf asked.

Jack unfolded the cloak and showed him. It was dark purple with a pale purple embroidered crocus centered at the bottom. A mantle covered the narrow end of the cape.

"That's what knocked you out of the sky, right? What is it?" A stick hand reached out the touch it.

"It's a cape. Elsa must have lost it coming up here and it flew away in the wind." Jack said. It was soft and looked warm; he wondered in the queen was cold without it, though somehow he doubted it.

Olaf looked curious. "A cape? What does it do?"

"It keeps people warm." Jack said and wrapped it around himself. "It goes around like this and you clasp it here and it protects you from the cold. It's also used by a lot of people for fashion." The clasp was a blue green stone. Jack modeled for the snowman. The wind decided to play and the cloak blew out behind him "Well, how do I look."

The snowman stared. "Like the Lord of the Wind and Snow."

Jack beamed. Something at the back of his mind wondered at the choice of the curious being's words, but he ignored it. He enjoyed the flattery.

The wind died down as the two started walking again and Jack left the cloak on. It felt cool to wear.

A short distance away, the rise ended in a cliff across which the palace nestled against the mountain peak. A beautiful, ice staircase spanned the ravine and led up to two doors that marked the entrance to the ice castle. The morning sun fully hit the sheets of perfectly formed ice and created a prism that shone off the palace and onto the snow. It created a mosaic of color.

"Wow." Both Jack and Olaf said at the same time.

"We should go knock and say 'hi'." Olaf said and started on the stairs.

Jack hesitated. "You go ahead."

Olaf frowned and looked back. "Aren't you coming?"

"Elsa won't see me." Jack said.

"Sure she will. Why wouldn't she want to see two friends who made it all this way to visit her?"

Jack shook his head and sat on a snow bank. "I mean she can't see me. I'm invisible to her. She doesn't know I exist."

Olaf tilted his head. "But I can see you."

"You're one of only a few who can see me." Jack explained. "To most other people, I'm just not there."

Olaf frowned and sat next to Jack. "I'm glad I'm not one of those people." He said. "Hey, what's that?"

A dark cloud had gathered around the mountain. It swirled around the spires unnaturally and then settled; a small spot of darkness against the otherwise now clear sky.

"I'm not sure." Jack said. The cloud unnerved him. "I'm going to check it out." He called the winds to lift him up and they obliged, having calmed down.

"I'll just hang out here, then." The snowman said, standing in the snow.

Jack laughed, "I'll be back in a minute." The winds carried him off. He was relieved that the turmoil from before seemed to have been resolved.

The winter spirit flew around the ice palace, admiring its structure and formation. There were no windows to see through, though the walls were thin and translucent enough he could see inside. The whole thing looked so huge and elegant, but empty. Though fully formed, Jack couldn't see any furnishing inside the palace, just walls and doors and stairs.

He landed on a balcony with a pair of doors with no handles and peered inside. Through the ice, he could see a figure pacing back and forth in a large room; Elsa; though she looked different. Her dress was a light blue instead of the dark green he saw her wearing at the coronation, and her hair was down in a braid over her shoulder, not up in a bun. The winter spirit tried to push the doors open, but they wouldn't move.

In the shadows of the room, something caught his eyes. A dark figure was standing there, watching the queen. Jack recognized him instantly from last year as the man who infected his friends with fear and turned them away from each other. It was the man of nightmares himself, Eugene had told him, Pitch Black.

What was he doing in there with Elsa?

As he watched, a circle of black shapes materialized around the oblivious queen. One of them nuzzled Pitch and he stroked it fondly, his eyes never leaving the queen.

Above, Jack heard a neigh. Looking up, he saw the black cloud writhing and moving. Horse shapes formed and dissolved in the mass. What were they? And why were they here with Pitch Black?

He needed to tell the others about this.

"Olaf!" Jack called as he flew by the snowman. "I need to go back to Arendelle. Something came up. I'll tell you about it later."

The little snowman waved. "Okay, bye." He stood in the snow for a moment, looking at his surroundings. "Arendelle, that sounds like a fun place to visit. Ooh, what's that over there?" He wandered off.


	10. Revealed

"Hiccup!" Eugene called, barreling down the hallway. The lanky viking turned, holding a box in his arms. "There you are, come with me."

"Eugene? Hans was- Whoa, where are we going?" Hiccup asked, as his friend caught his arm and dragged him along down the hallway.

"I need to tell you something. Where is Merida and Rapunzel?"

"Um… In the ballroom, I think." The last he saw of them, Merida and Rapunzel were helping distribute breakfast to the guests. Hiccup had been sent to get more supplies from the storage closet. "Where are we going?"

Suddenly, Eugene froze. He looked back down the way he had come and cursed quietly to himself. He turned down a corner and picked up the pace, still dragging the viking along. Hiccup looked over his shoulder but saw nothing. Was Eugene being chased? He wondered. But who would be chasing him here, in Arendelle, during this summer/winter?

The former thief opened one of the doors that lined the hallway and pulled Hiccup inside after him, closing and locking the door behind. "Shh." He held a finger to his lips and listened at the door. Hiccup put the box he was carrying down, and put his ear to the door as well.

"What are we hiding from?" He asked quietly.

"Nightmares." Was the answer. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at that. For a moment he pictured a Monstrous Nightmare crawling down the corridor covered in flames, but dismissed it remembering that dragons don't come down this far southeast on their own, and that there would be a big commotion if one was ever seen flying around.

Hearing nothing, Hiccup looked around the room. It was some kind of unused sitting room, with a couch sitting in front of a fire place, and chairs lining the walls. Sheets covered the furniture, creating ghostly shapes in the morning light that shone dustily through a single window. After a moment, Eugene crossed the room and closed the drapes, leaving the room dark.

"So, um. This is rather ominous." Hiccup said. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"

"It's a bit hard to explain everything." Eugene started, quietly. He looked nervously at the door as if he expected something to barge through at any second. "Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack need to know what's going on as well, but we don't have time to get them right now."

"What do you mean we don't have time?"

"Okay, let's see, um." He started to pace. "How do I explain it? Alright. Do you remember how that evil witch who kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby, Gothel, disappeared when she went through the tower window last year? And how we all assumed she was dead, even though we didn't find her body?"

Hiccup nodded, not liking where this was going.

"Well, she's still alive, ancient looking, and is here in the castle. And that old viking that came with you to Corona last year, Mildew? He's here, too. He stowed away on your ship. And together, they've been keeping eyes on you, me, the girls, and Queen Elsa."

"Mildew?" Hiccup asked, incredulous. That nasty old grump was here? Why? "Watching us this whole time?"

"Yeah. But that's not even hardest to believe in all this." Eugene paused and looked at the door. He crept to it and put his ears against the wood for a second, then came back to Hiccup. He began to speak faster and in a quieter tone. "Apparently they're using this unscheduled winter, which the people are saying is cursed, and eternal, and foretold and all that, to get people scared; something to do with the boogeyman, I think. And they have all these creepy looking black horses around them that they said could smell fear."

This was a lot of, surprising, information. "How do you know all this?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his head. The boogeyman? Mildew and Gothel? Something larger than he had thought was happening here.

"I followed them and overheard their conversation with another one of their partners. His name is Mor'du, also known as the bear Merida fought with last year. But it looks like he's human now or something like that."

"And that's where you went off to in a hurry then." Hiccup guessed. "So let me get this straight: you saw one of my people with an ancient Gothel and followed them to overhear a conversation with Merida's demon bear and learned that they are using the winter to make everyone afraid for the boogeyman?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

This was a strange turn of events, Hiccup thought to himself. Though really, after Elsa revealed her secret ice magic and froze everything, what could be expected to go according to plan? "So what now?"

Eugene looked back toward the door, and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, they kind of realized I was spying on them, so now they're probably trying to find me and stop me from telling you guys. And there's a good chance they sent those fear horses after me as well. I keep hearing their whinnies everywhere. So I guess we try to get to Merida and Rapunzel before they do, and then we get out of here. Or try to stop them. I don't really know."

Hiccup frowned in thought, the wheels in his head turning around this new information. After a moment he nodded. "First things first, we have to get to the ballroom without being spotted. Any idea what would happen if those horses of yours find you?"

Eugene shook his head. "They give me the creeps, though. I don't want anything to do with them."

…..

"Well? Do you see thief boy anywhere?" Gothel squinted around the ballroom. Her eyesight was getting worse, everything past a certain distance was all blur. And her bones ached from the winter weather, and her hands were shaky. How she hated this aged body. For a moment she remembered how beautiful and young she looked only last year.

"No. Or Hiccup." Mildew interrupted her thoughts with his ornery voice. "But I do see the warrior and the healer; still helping out the common people like servants."

The healer. Rapunzel. Her flower. Gothel's heart jolted. That golden hair so close. If only she could use it and return to her beautiful self again. But Pitch had said to stay undercover, to gather the NightMares in secret. He didn't know what it was like to be trapped in an aging body like she was.

"At least it looks like he hasn't told them about us yet." Mildew continued. "That's at least two out of four, and the spirit still who knows where. Have ye even seen the lad, yet? I mean, I catch glimpses of blue from time to time, but with all those dragons flying about, it's hard to-"

"Will you be quiet for a moment. I'm trying to think. " Gothel interrupted, how that man liked to go on. She looked around her to see if any of the other people loitering around the ballroom had overheard her. "There's a good chance Eugene already found the leader. He could be telling him about us right now, for all we know. We need to get control of this situation before it gets any more out of hand."

A new NightMare stepped out from the shadows of a column and walked unnoticed through the crowds of people toward them. Gothel absentmindedly stroked its forehead before sending it to help the others locate the thief. A plan was forming in her mind.

"What if," She turned to her colleague. "We removed these two from the picture. Isolate them from each other at the very least. Cause a little chaos to strengthen the overall fear and secure our plans at the same time."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

Gothel looked toward her wayward daughter; the child she had raised and, despite herself, had grown to care about a little. Only a little. "How good are your acting skills?"

…..

"Would you like a drink, sir? I have glogg or chocolate." Rapunzel asked a gentleman sitting near the hearth. He had recently come in from the town among others, and was trying to warm his old bones by the fire. Hans had left the castle gates open and was out among the town handing out cloaks and inviting everyone to come inside for warmth.

The man nodded, and she passed him a cup of a warm chocolaty beverage. She was told it was a popular winter beverage here, and had tried some for herself earlier. It was delicious! The liquid chocolate mixture slid down her throat and sat warmly in her stomach. She planned on bringing some back to Corona to share. She hadn't tried the glogg yet, but it seemed to be a favorite among those native to Arendelle.

"Thank you, miss." The gentleman said gratefully.

Rapunzel smiled and nodded. "That should help you recover from the cold." She said and turned to another group of people.

"Excuse me, my lady." An old man with a greying long mustache and large nose tapped her on the shoulder. "Could I bother you for some assistance?"

"Of course. What do you need help with?" Rapunzel put the tray of cups she was carrying down on a chair.

"Well, you see. It's my wife." The old man started. He had an unusual accent, similar to Merida's but not as thick. "She's rather frail, and with the winter, it's causing her problems, you see. Well, she went off to use the toilet and tripped on some stairs." He pointed to one of the doors leading out of the ballroom. "I think she's broken her leg. And I can't move her away from the stairs."

Rapunzel felt her heart reach out for the poor old woman. What pain she must be in. "I'll see what I can do to help." She promised the man.

What could she do, though? Use her hair? She was hesitant to let anyone know about her healing ability, in case everyone wanted to use it. It was the one fear that has stayed with her from her childhood, despite Eugene's assurances that no one would force her to do anything she didn't want to do. But then, she had to do something, if someone was in pain and wasn't able to be moved.

"Take me to her." She said. "Merida!" She waved across the room. The red-headed princess finished with whatever she was doing and came over to her.  
"What is't?"

Rapunzel indicated the old man standing next to her. "He says his wife fell down some stairs. Will you come with me to see if we can do anything to help?" Merida nodded and the man led the way out of the ballroom.

"Yeugh look familiar." Merida said at one point. "Have I met ye before?"

The old man coughed. "No. Um no, I don't believe so. My wife and I have never been out to a fancy function like this. Dear soul, I hope she's alright. She's just around the corner now. There she is."

They came to a small set of stairs and at the bottom was his wife, wrapped in a blue cloak and leaning against the wall, one leg splayed out. Rapunzel could hear quiet sobbing coming from the woman.

"Here, let me see. I'm here to help." Rapunzel kneeled next to her. She gingerly touched the leg and received a sharp intake of breath. "What is your name?"

"You can call me Granny, dear." The woman said through gritted teeth. Her blue hood covered most of her wrinkled face and had strands of grey, curly hair poking out from underneath, and her body was thin and frail.

"How badly does this hurt, Granny?" The princess asked, touching the leg softly again, in the same place below the knee.

"Excruciating."

"And this?" Rapunzel touched a little further down.

Granny cried out at the touch. "Even worse."

Worried, Rapunzel looked at her friend, who knelt down as well.

"Where else do you hurt?" Merida asked.

"My arms, from trying to catch myself. My hip, my shoulder here, my ribs and my back. My feet. My other leg a little as well. And I have a headache."

The girls exchanged a glance. Rapunzel's heart was breaking for this poor woman in so much pain. She looked at her braid lying on the ground next to her. She should sing for the woman, use her hair to help get her up and about, shouldn't she?

"Is there anything you can do?" The old man asked, still standing at the top of the stairs.

"Ay don't know if there is a lot we can do." Merida answered. She was protecting Rapunzel, knowing that she was afraid of people using her for her hair. Rapunzel felt grateful for her friend. "Did ye call for a doctor, or one of the servants?"

"I thought you were servants. Passing out cloaks and beverages like you were."

The red headed princess bristled. "_Princess_ Rapunzel is the Queen's own cousin. She's no servant, and neither am I. We're helping the Prince Hans hold this place together."

"Merida." Rapunzel said softly. "He didn't know."

"The palace physician is better suited to helping your wife than we are. Why did you even ask us to help anyway? Of all the people yeugh could have asked and you go to Rapunzel, when yeugh could have-"

Granny started to moan just then and cry. Merida stopped her tirade at the old man and looked down concerned at the woman.

"I'm so sorry. I don't mean to be a bother to you nice young ladies. My husband…" Granny hissed in pain as she tried to shift her position. "He didn't know. He was just worried about me." Tears started to run down her face.

"I went to the first person I saw that could help. That's it." The man added.

The girls exchanged another glance. Rapunzel asked with her eyes if she should heal the woman. It would save the woman so much pain, and they wouldn't have to track down the town doctor, or have to move the woman where she could be somewhat comfortable until she healed, which could be a long time from now. The princess could see those same thoughts running through her friend's head. After a second, Merida nodded.

"There is something I can do to help, actually." Rapunzel said.

"But you have to keep it quiet, yeugh hear?" Merida added, looking sternly at the man.

The old man's face lit up and he nodded. "Of course, of course. Whatever you can do to help her."

Rapunzel sighed and began to unravel her hair a little. "I was born with this power, to heal people. If I sing while someone is touching my hair, then it will remove any injuries. It'll be like your wife never fell."

"You have magic, like the queen?" Granny asked, faintly.

"Kind of. It's different." Rapunzel gently wrapped a strand of hair around Granny's leg, wincing in sympathy at the other woman's hiss of pain. "Sorry." She proceeded to wrap another strand around the woman's arms and place other hair where Granny said hurt. "Are you ready?" She asked when she was done.

"As ready as I can be, I suppose."

Rapunzel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It had been months now since she had last done this. It was a little nerve wracking, actually. But she knew it was the right thing to do. It was selfish of her to even think otherwise, especially with Granny obviously in so much pain. She resolved to stop hiding it. If anyone else turned up needing medical attention, she'll do her best to help.

Merida placed her hand on her shoulder in support as she began to sing.

"Flower, Gleam and Glow.

Let Your Power Shine.

Make The Clock Reverse,

Bring Back What Once Was Mine

Heal What Has Been Hurt

Change The Fates Design

Save What Has been Lost

Bring Back What Once Was Mine.

She felt the healing energy run through her body and travel through her mass of hair. She willed it to heal the old woman who sat before her, to help her recover from her fall down the hard stairs. Rapunzel heard her voice echoing with the magic as she spoke the final line of the incantation. "What Once Was Mine." She fell silent and let the magic flow out of her.

The woman still had her hood covering her face when Rapunzel opened her eyes again, but the hair poking out from under the hood was black instead of grey, and the hands sitting on her lap were no longer frail and wrinkled but soft and young looking. Merida tightened her grip on Rapunzel's shoulder, indicating she noticed as well.

"Thank you, my dear. I feel so much better now." The voice that spoke chilled Rapunzel to her bones. It was a voice that still haunted her dreams occasionally; a voice she thought was gone forever.

Gothel lifted her hood to reveal a younger, prettier face than the one she had before. She gave the girls a wry smile. "How can I ever repay you?"

The old man behind them, whistled appreciatively. "I've got to try that sometime. Was quite a looker, myself when I was younger."

"Mother?" Rapunzel asked, feeling small. Her heart was racing.

"Hello, my flower." Gothel unwrapped Rapunzel's hair from her leg and arms and stood up, gripping the golden locks tight in her hands. She stretched sighed happily. "It feels good to be young again."

"But how are you…? I thought…" Rapunzel was still in shock. She barely registered Gothel slowing winding her long hair around her wrist. Instead, she though back to the last time she saw the woman who raised her; the tower, the fight, Gothel falling through the window. How had she survived such a fall?

"Drop her hair!" Rapunzel heard her friend say and she felt a tug as Merida pulled the hair away from Gothel. The witch held on tight though. Snapping out of the shock, Rapunzel realized the danger she was in, she remembered what Gothel had really wanted from her all those years in the tower. The healing properties she had just used on her. She started pulling at her hair as well.

Suddenly she heard a soft thud and Merida crumpled to the ground next to her. The next thing she knew was a flash of pain on her head as she too was knocked unconscious.

…..

"That's better." Gothel looked impassively as the healer and the warrior fell senseless to the ground. So innocent looking, yet so much trouble. "Took you long enough." She told the old viking standing in front of her.

"You were fine." He grumbled. "Now, let's get these two locked away before anyone comes. Brilliant job, by the way, those crocodile tears really sold it in the end."

"Not too shabby yourself, 'husband.'"


	11. Lockdown

"Look at her." The dark man purred to his steeds. "She thinks that she is free here, alone in the mountains. No more need to hide her powers in fear of her people rejecting her, thinking her a monster. No more need to worry about hurting her dear, younger sister. Free." He laughed. "No one can be free of fear."

A signal from one of his NightMares told him that Mor'du had returned from Arendelle. He followed the steed away from the queen who was experimenting with her gift, causing little flurries of snow to appear from her hands. After all these years, and the girl finally got the courage to test out her abilities. Of course, he won't let her know the true extent of what she can do until it was time.

Mor'du was waiting in the front hall, far enough away from the queen to avoid letting her know that he was here. Sometimes it was so cumbersome that Pitch was the only one that everyone couldn't hear or see. He shifted his form from bear to man as Pitch approached.

"What news do you bring?" The king of fear asked his ally.

"Gothel and Mildew are still gathering the steeds, and sowing fear where they can." Mor'du answered, his voice gruff and quiet. "They told me that the princess has run after her sister in hopes of bringing her home."

"That might cause a problem for us." Pitch said. Nothing can interfere with his goals. Not after all the planning and work he has put into this. Not now. Years before, the troll oracle had told him: O_nly love can thaw a frozen heart._

He needed that Frozen Heart. "Your land shall be cursed with unending winter. With blasts of cold will come dark art, and a ruler with a frozen heart," the prophecy said. Those were the keys that will help him cover the world in cold and darkness. That was why he subtly encouraged distance between the Key and the younger sister all these years. Make her too afraid of hurting the one person she loved most, and she wouldn't able to let love in.

"That foolish girl, with her undying affection for her sister could ruin this. My hold on the Key has already diminished with her self-assigned exile. If she loses her fear of her powers and can control them, then what's to stop her from going back with her sister?" Pitch started to pace. The queen was already so powerful, as was evident by the palace he was standing in and the storm over the kingdom, and the ice spreading from the fjord into the sea. With the right direction, he could guide that power to do terrible things.

Wait. He remembered the night he first gained control of the girl's life. The instance that sowed the seed of fear that led to the moment she enacted the curse. The mistake that haunts Queen Elsa to this day, and reminds her of what she had done every time she looks at her younger sister and that streak of ice touched hair.

"On second thought, the arrival of the princess could actually be of use in controlling the Key. Find the Princess Anna and make sure she gets here. I can use her." He told Mor'du.

The bear smiled and nodded. "One more thing, about the four…"

Pitch felt a rush of cold. The horse around him whinnied and shuffled their feet at the smell of his sudden fear. "What about them?" He asked darkly.

"The thief overheard my conversation with the others. How much he heard, we do not know, but we assume most of it."

Pitch cursed and started pacing again. "Did you apprehend him?"

"He escaped, but Gothel and Mildew are seeking him to prevent him from alerting the others."

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. "What about Frost? Is he still with the others? Are they all still at the castle?" He couldn't let them ruin it. They weren't supposed to be friends. What went wrong?

"I have not seen the spirit, but the others are still at the castle. They are helping an upstart prince who was left in charge." Mor'du eyed Pitch, noting his reaction.

If it was possible, it seemed like pale man in black had grown paler at this news. The steeds were restless, as they get around fear. "I will see to the closing of the castle. No one gets in or out of that castle and its town. We need to keep those brats away from the Key. You, go, make sure the girl gets here."

Mor'du nodded and shifted his form. In the place of the giant man stood a scarred, black bear that left through the doors on quiet padded feet.

Pitch went back up to the queen, who was still in the heart of the palace. She stood under the beautiful chandelier she had made, observing it and the rest of the room. There was a green tint to the ice, though, Pitch had though it was more of a darker blue when it had first been formed. It must just be due to the daylight, he decided.

Seeing as the queen showed no signs of going anywhere, he assigned a few of his steeds to keep watch and departed for Arendelle. He was not going to leave any room for interference from those brats.

…

"That should hold them until we can deal with them later." Gothel said, locking a heavy wooden door behind her. She and Mildew had secured the warrior and the healer inside what looked like a specially designed prison cell. There was reinforced steel lining the walls and doors and metal cuffs attached to a cot inside. Mildew suggested the warrior be restrained with them to avoid any problems. Pitch must have been very thorough in his work on this family, if they had ordered a room built specifically to contain their own daughter.

"What do we plan to do with them, later?" Mildew asked.

Gothel thought for a moment. She didn't care what happened to Merida, but she was determined to keep Rapunzel for the use of her hair. But for now… "We keep them contained until this is all over, then we can decide what their fate will be."

"I couldn't agree more." A dark voice behind them said. In the shadows stood Pitch, a few NightMares stood by his side.

"And the Nightmare King comes to check on us." The old viking grumbled.

"What are you doing here?" Gothel demanded. "Why aren't you watching the key?"

Pitch walked forward and gently took the cell key out of Gothel's hand. He unlocked the door and peered inside at the two still unconscious princesses. "I received word that you were experiencing trouble from the four and came personally to see that nothing gets in the way. I've commanded the NightMares you've gathered to circle the town. There will no getting out for anyone, especially those that could very well still have the power to stop us, unless you've locked them away as well?

"We've only managed to nab these two so far. Hiccup and that thief are still somewhere around here." Mildew reported, leaning on his staff. "We've got some of those horses looking for them now."

"And what of Jack Frost?" There was a dangerous tone in his voice.

"We 'aven't seen him since before the curse was enacted."

"Everyone else is still here, he probably isn't far off." Gothel added, giving Mildew a pointed look.

The NightMares behind Pitch shuffled their feet slightly and tossed their heads. Pitch shut the cell door and locked it, his hand tight on the door handle. "He's the one we need to be most careful of. If he's not in the castle now, then he could very well be with the Key. Continue to sow fear here; I'm going to speed up our plans." With that he was gone, nothing left but the shadows and the equine manifestations of fear in front of Mother Gothel and Mildew.


	12. Portals

"Looks like the coast is clear," Hiccup told Eugene as they peered out the door, watching for any signs of the mysterious black creatures. "Though we should be careful and hurry; if they are formed out of fear, like you think, then there's a good chance they'll be drawn to anyone who's afraid. Meaning us as well."

Eugene shut the door and looked at him. "Who says I'm afraid? I'm not afraid. What makes you say that?"

"Well, for one instance you ran into me and practically dragged me into an abandoned part of the castle to avoid being caught."

"That was more a matter of urgency to tell someone what I just saw."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Either way, if they are looking for us, then they'll be honing in on our fears. I'm afraid for the girls, I'm afraid the curse will escalate and freeze us. You're worried for your safety."

"Okay, let's not focus on what we're afraid of right now. That seems like a very bad idea to me. Let's just focus on getting to the girls."

"I can help you with that, mates." A voice said from behind them, causing both men to jump.

A second later, Eugene relaxed. "Bunny, you really shouldn't sneak up on people who are trying to hide."

The Easter Bunny stood in the middle of the room, standing tall and powerful in the dim room. Arm guards stood out on the rabbit's forearms, and boomerangs were strapped to his back, and across his chest a sash held what looked like colored eggs.

"Oh, sorry for frightening you, princess." Bunny said sarcastically. "Don't have time to cater to your strung up nerves. We have to hurry."

"What are you?" Hiccup asked, stepping up to get a closer look at the newcomer. He reached to touch his fur but earned a slap to the hand.

"I'm the Easter Bunny. And we'll explain everything in a minute." He stomped his foot and a green, earthy hole opened up in the middle of the floor.

"We?" The viking asked, before he was pushed in. Eugene could hear his friend sliding down the tunnel.

"What about the others?" The former thief asked, hesitating on the edge of the hole. "They're in danger as well."

"The other guardians are taking care of them. Don't worry." Bunny said and hopped in. Eugene quickly followed suit. Shortly after the hole in the floor closed up, leaving a single flower, a snowdrop, where it was.

…..

The north wind carried Jack Frost over the mountain toward Arendelle as fast as it could travel. The queen's cloak billowed out behind him, forgotten in his rush to get back.

Arendelle was different, he noticed as he found the castle. The fjord had completely frozen over in solid ice and snow covered the kingdom creating a wonderland of white and grey. There was a group of people standing in the courtyard and Jack landed to see Hans handing out blankets to civilians and men piling firewood next to a wall.

Jack couldn't see his friends anywhere so he went inside the next time the front doors opened. There were a lot of people still in the ballroom; mostly the guests who had traveled from other countries to attend the coronation. Servants wandered between groups of people, handing out food and drink. Jack recognized Maudi among them, but the others weren't there.

"Huh, I thought they'd be around here somewhere." He said to himself. He slipped out of the ballroom and started to wander the halls, calling out the names of his friends as he went

"Shh. They'll hear you." A voice said.

Jack stopped and looked around. He didn't see anyone in the hallway, though there was a few open doors on either side of the corridor. Was someone hiding?

"Phil, you have snow globe, yes?" The voice said again. The voice was male and it held a strange accent. It was coming from nearby. Jack crept forward to find the source. A strange garbled voice answered the man.

"Good, good. Now we are ready."

Jack peered through a doorway and saw a large man with a long red coat and black trim standing with his back turned to the door. A big furry thing stood in front of the man, mostly hidden from Jack.

"I don't recognize you from the part." Jack said softly to himself. "What are you up to?"

"Hmm?" the man said and tilted his head. He turned around and looked in Jack's direction. The winter spirit froze as he met eyes with the strange man. "Ah, Jack Frost. Good timing. Now we go, come, come."

"You can see me?" Jack said and stepped into the room. "How? And what is that thing?" He saw the furry thing clearly now, it was large and widely built and long cream colored fur covered its entire body, longer fur around its mouth like a mustache and on its head in a ponytail. It was holding a sack in one hand and round ball swirling with green and brown in the other. It made garbled sound in response.

"There will be time for questions later." The big man beckoned again. "The others are waiting, we must go."

Jack backed up a little; this was too weird. Who was this guy, to see him, know him, and expect him to go wherever it was that the man wanted him to go? And what others, waiting for what, and what was that thing? "Um, sorry. As nice as it is that you can see me, I have to go." He turned and fled down the hallway.

"You won't find your friends that way." The stranger called behind him.

Jack stopped and turned. "What do you know about them?" Were they in trouble? Was this man holding them captive?

The stranger and furry thing were standing in the hall now. The furry thing handed the man the colored sphere and Jack watched as the man threw it to the ground. Light exploded from the shards and formed a glowing disk.

"They are waiting for you through this." The man held out a hand for Jack while the furry thing went through the portal and disappeared.

…..

"Hey, wake up." A voice called. Rapunzel stirred. Her head hurt.

"Come on. We have to git out o' here, before they get back." The voice came again. Rapunzel recognized it as Merida's, but what was she talking about? And where was she? There was a rattle of chains and Rapunzel became aware of the cold hard surface she was laying on. Opening her eyes, she saw stone walls lit with a bluish light coming from a small window. Merida stood before her, pulling at something. It took Rapunzel a moment to realize that her friends hands were encased in metal and chains attached her to the wall.

"Ow." She said sitting up. It was all coming back to her now; Gothel, her hair. She healed an old woman and it turned out to be the witch who used her all her life.

Merida stopped pulling on her chains. "Finally. You're awake. They left yeughr hands free. Come help me get out of these chains."

Together, the girls pulled at the chains, but they wouldn't budge from the wall. Rapunzel looked closer at the metal gloves, but didn't know how to pick them open. Eugene had once tried showing her how to pick a lock, but she wasn't very good at it, and there was nothing in the cell to pick with.

"Try the door. Is there any way yeugh could git the hinges off?"

Rapunzel pulled, and tried to loosen the hinges, but couldn't. After a while of trying, they both sat down on the cot. "Where do you think Eugene and Jack and Hiccup are right now? Do you think they've noticed we're gone?"

Merida scoffed. "Of course they've noticed by now. We've been in here for a while. Someone's bound to be lookin'. What do ya think they want wi' us?"

"Mo- Gothel wants the magic from my hair. It's always kept her young. I don't know how she's alive, or how she found me, but now that has me again…"

Merida put her arm around her friend in comfort, careful of the chains. "We won't let her use you again. I promise to get us out of here." She looked around the room but couldn't see anything that'll help.

They were both silent for a moment, then Merida spoke up, "Your hair can heal any injury, right? It healed Eugene's stab wound that one time, and Hiccup's cut on his arm."

Rapunzel nodded, not sure what Merida was getting at.

"I'm thinking, if I pulled hard enough on these, my hands could come out. But it'll hurt, and it'll rip my skin off, or even worse, but if you could heal it after…"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Rapunzel asked. That sounded like a lot of pain. She didn't want her friend to go through something like that if there was some other way.

The red head took a deep breath. "If it'll git me out of here, yes." She answered.

Rapunzel frowned at the thought, but nodded.

Merida steeled herself and began to pull at the chains hard. She bit her lip at the pain.

"Stop. There's a better way!" Someone said from by the door.

Both girls looked over to see a woman in green and blue hovering above the ground with little blue and green birds flying around her, and a short, golden colored man positioned in front of the closed door, next to them a glowing sphere of light disappeared. Both of them had a worried expression on their faces at seeing what Merida was attempting.

"What?" Merida asked. "Who are yeugh?"

"How did you get in here?" Rapunzel added.

"We'll explain later," The flying woman said, coming closer. "But first we need to get you out of here." As she spoke a few of the little birds approached Merida's locked hands. The hovered around it for a second, squeaking and chirping, and then one of them stuck their long beak into the lock. A few seconds passed and the cuffs popped open and fell to the ground.

Merida rubbed her chaffed wrists and looked at the birds. "Thank yeugh, but who are you guys?" No one answered, but the birds started to squeak again and push Merida forward. "Hey, Wha' are you doing?"

"Come with me," The woman grabbed Rapunzel's hand as the golden man pulled out a globe and threw it on the ground, causing a sphere of light to appear, showing a green earthy image inside. "Like I said, we'll explain everything to you soon." She then led Rapunzel through the sphere.

The man silently gestured for Merida to follow and the birds gently prodded her forward. Annoyed at them she half-heartedly swatted them away, but followed her friend through the portal.


End file.
